THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


UR  PLANS 
JEVENGE  AND 
UION  BECOME 
DICULOUSLY 
IVHEN  WE  LOOK 
THEM  FROM 
DISTANCE" 


T: 


HE  GREAT   HUN- 
GER"   and    "THE 
POWER    OF   A   LIE" 

have  given  the  famous  Nor- 
wegian novelist,  Johan 
Bojer,  rank  in  the  world's 
literature  with  the  acknow- 
ledged masters  of  fiction. 
Like  Tolstoy,  he  is  a  teach- 
er, a  prophet;  like  Hardy, 
he  is  a  realist  who  pictures 
unflinchingly  the  life  and 
character  of  his  own  people 
with  universal  understand- 
ing. 

In  "God  arid  Woman" 
Bojer  turns  his  attention  to 
woman  and  for  the  first 
time  builds  his  novel  around 
a  central  character  who 
craves  to  know  the  joys  of 
motherhood  and  for  whom 
Fate  has  apparently  deter- 
mined another  destiny. 


God  and  Woman 


COMMENTS    ON    THE    NOVELS    OF 

JOHAN  BOJER 

THE   GREAT  HUNGER 

"It  is  the  first  work  of  fiction  I  have  ever  reviewed;  and  I  come  to  it  with  a  ir'  id 
hopelessly  untrammelled,  and  a  p.  exposition  of  interest  in  its  theme.  What  is  it  we  are 
alF  after  in  life?  Desire  to  reach,  that  is  the  great  hunger.  The  story  of  Peer  Holm  i:  be 
pilgrimage  of  a  man  half-consciously  travelling  the  long  road  to  the  Ultima  Thule  of  iis 
soul:  passing  unsatisfied  the  goals  of  knowledge,  of  power,  of  love,  all  the  milestones  01  a 
full  life  and  coming  very  late,  very  broken,  but  unconquered,  to  a  realization  at  the  last. 
This  book  could  only  have  been  written  by  a  Scandinavian.  It  has  the  stark  realistic  spir- 
ituality characteristic  of  a  race  with  special  depths  of  darkness  to  contend  with,  am'  its 
own  northern  sunlight  and  beauty.  A  very  deep  love  of  nature  colors  and  freshens!  .he 
work  of  this  writer,  and  gives  it  that — I  would  not  say  national,  but  rather  local — at  os- 
phere  and  flavor  which  is  the  background  of  true  art.  The  translation  is  exceptio  lly 
able,  and  one  would  think  that  but  little  of  the  atmosphere  has  leaked  away.  The  try 
told,  fine  and  pathetic,  is  common  enough  in  this  world  of  strenuous  endeavor,  ac  im- 
plishment,  and  decline.  Peer  Holm,  at  the  lowest  ebb  of  his  worldly  fortunes,  finds  s  tis- 
faction  for  his  long  hunger.  A  very  fine  work,  both  in  execution  and  in  meaning." — ,'  'HK 
GALSWORTHY  in  the  London  Nation. 

THE  POWER  OF  A  LIE 

"This  is  a  great  book.  I  can  have  no  hesitation  whatever  in  saying  that.  Rar' '/  in 
reading  a  modern  novel  have  I  felt  so  strong  a  sense  of  reality  and  so  deep  an  impression  of 
motive.  It  would  be  difficult  to  praise  too  highly  the  pcwer  and  the  reticence  of  this  s  ,ory. 
When  I  compare  it  with  other  Norwegian  novels,  even  the  best  and  by  the  best-known 
writers,  I  feel  that  it  transcends  them  in  its  high  seriousness,  and  in  the  almost  relentless 
strength  with  which  its  dominant  idea  is  carried  through.  Its  atmosphere  is  often  wonder- 
ful, sometimes  startling,  and  its  structure  is  without  any  fault  that  has  betrayed  itself  to 
me. 

"  It  does  not  surprise  me  to  hear  that  the  Academy  of  France  has  lately  crowned  THE 
POWER  ot  A  IIE,  for  both  its  morality  and  its  excelling  power  are  of  the  kind  which  at 
the  present  moment  appeal  most  strongly  to  the  French  mind.  The  reader  will  find  that 
this  book  stirs  and  touches  him,  and  makes  him  think." — SIR  HALL  CAINB. 

THE  FACE  OF  THE  WORLD 

"A  big  ironic  book,  finely  conceived  and  very  finely  executed." — JAMES  BRANCH 
CABELL,  in  the  New  York  Sun. 

"A  fine  book,  moist  with  life,  which  stands  well  out  of  the  surrounding  banalities. 
You  will  be  depriving  yourself  of  a  rare  pleasure  if  you  do  not  read  it." — The  Baltimore 
Sun. 

TREACHEROUS   GROUND 

"One  of  the  spring  novels  which  will  probably  be  much  read  and  discussed  is  Johan 
Boger's  TREACHEROUS  GROUND.  The  Bojer  boom  began  in  this  country  with  the  publica- 
tion of  THIT  GREAT  HUNGER,  a  rather  curious  story  of  Norway  related  in  a  caressing  mono- 
tone With  the  publication  of  TREACHEROUS  GROUND  the  estimate  of  Bojer  will,  I  think, 
gain  a  notch  or  so,  and  in  the  parlance  of  the  markets,  remain  firm.  It  is  the  n.ost  consid- 
erable, the  most  intelligently  conceived,  and  the  smoothest  of  the  three  that  I  have  read. 

"On  the  surface  it  is  a  slightly  pensive  recitation  of  rueful  and  dramatic  happenings. 
Essentially,  though,  it  is  an  expert  and  complete  analysis  of  a  moralistic  moron.  With  the 
scalpel  of  a  deft  technique  Bojer  lays  bare  the  flabby  heart,  the  gelatinous  spine,  the  mushy 
brain,  the  feeble  viscera  of  a  pietistic  coward,  the  man  of  easy  sentiment,  ready  martyrdom, 
and  quick  remorse,  the  male  who  distrusts  his  instincts,  clouds  his  reason  with  every  sham, 
relies  upon  a  Pippa  Passes  and  Marxian  heaven,  and  wonders  why  he  fares  so  ill.  And  so 
pleasantly  interesting  is  Bojer  in  this  display  of  clinical  virtuosity  that  you  forget  to  ob- 
serve that  the  cadaver  is  more  than  a  trifle  nauseous.  At  once  a  scientific  and  artistic  tri- 
umph, combining  the  art  of  the  prestidigitateur  with  that  of  the  surgeon. 

"It  is  a  fine,  ironic  story,  none  the  less  poignant  for  its  being  bitter-sweet." — BURTON 
RABCOB,  in  the  Chicago  Tribune. 


GOD    AND    WOMAN 

(DYRENDAL) 


BY 

JOHAN  BOJER 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  GREAT  HUNGER," 


TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  NORWEGIAN 
BY 

A.  R.  SHELANDER 


COPYRIGHT,  1921,  BY 
MOFFAT,  YARD  AND  COMPANY 


Press  of 

J.  J.  Little  &  Ives  Company 
New  York.  U.  S.  A. 


PT 


God  and  Woman  Part  I 


. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  I 

MARTHA  stood  under  the  plank  bridge  leading  to 
the  second  story  of  the  barn  and  watched  her  two 
brothers  driving  a  loaded  wagon  destined  for  the 
village.  She  was  a  striking  figure,  with  her 
aquiline  nose,  flowing  white  sleeves,  dark  bodice, 
and  red  petticoat.  She  placed  her  hands  upon  her 
hips  and  drew  up  her  mouth  on  one  side  into  a 
sneer.  Nearly  everyone  was  going  to  the  fair. 
Large  Lofoten  boats  full  of  young  people  would 
soon  be  out  on  the  fjord,  and  to-morrow  morning 
they  would  be  in  the  village.  But  she — she  was 
not  good  enough.  She  would  have  to  stay  at  home 
on  the  farm  all  her  life  and  slave  for  her  brothers. 

The  two  middle-aged  bachelors,  who  walked  on 
either  side  of  the  wagon,  wore  black,  broad- 
brimmed  hats.  Their  homespun  coats  had  been 
thrown  on  the  top  of  the  load,  and  their  blue  shirt- 
sleeves were  of  a  material  that  Martha  had  woven. 
It  was  cheaper  to  have  a  sister  than  a  servant. 
One  of  them,  Ola,  stopped  and  called: 

"Martha!" 

There  was  no  answer.  He  placed  his  hand  to  his 
mouth  and  shouted: 

"  Take  good  care  of  the  stock  while  we're  gone." 

A  derisive  little  laugh  sounded  from  under  the 
plank  bridge. 

3 


God  and  Woman 


The  large  yellow  house  with  white  window 
frames  lay  there  quite  empty,  lit  up  by  the  brilliant 
sunset.  The  red  cow-house  in  the  background 
seemed  asleep,  while  the  stabur,1  resting  upon  its 
poles,  was  wrapped  in  silence.  Up  in  the  hills  lay 
the  grey  summer  cowshed,  where  the  cows  would 
soon  gather  to  be  milked. 

Martha  walked  slowly  across  the  wide,  level 
courtyard.  She  was  tall,  dark  haired,  ruddy,  and 
her  eyes  had  a  proud,  disdainful  look.  She  halted 
at  the  kitchen  door  with  her  hand  upon  the  latch, 
thinking  how  many  things  might  happen  while  she 
was  entirely  alone. 

But  then,  it  ought  not  to  be  so  bad  during  the 
light  summer  nights.     She  straightened  herself  and 
went  in,  her  steps  echoing  through  the  empty  house. 
In  the  kitchen,  pots  and  pans  gleamed  from  the 
walls.     In  the  living-room  the  sun  streamed  in 
through  the  two  windows  facing  west.     The  large 
wall-clock  began  to  strike.     The  air  was  filled  with  ; 
an  evil  deed  which  sought  the  daylight,  but  lifeless ) 
objects  are  witnesses  unable  to  tell  what  they  know. ) 
Listen!    Was  that  a  footstep  in  the  attic? 

Martha  sat  down  in  a  corner  and  stared  straight 
in  front  of  her. 

So  many  things  had  happened  during  the  last 
year.  Both  of  her  parents  had  died,  the  one  shortly 
after  the  other.  Old  Per  Ersland  had  been  a  big 
man  in  his  day.  But  the  two  elder  brothers  had 

1  Stabur,  a  small  house  upon  poles,  used  for  the  storage  of  food. 


God  and  Woman 


been  named  to  divide  the  estate,  and  they  had  di- 
vided it  according  to  their  notions. 

Martha  had  once  been  engaged  to  the  forester  on 
the  Myr  estate,  and  had  gone  to  school  at  the  par- 
sonage in  order  to  be  educated  as  a  fine  lady.  Then 
the  day  came  when  she  found  her  inheritance  had 
been  cut  down  to  a  paltry  hundred  dollars ;  and  the 
forester  needed  a  wife  who  had  more. 

Of  course  when  he  broke  off  the  engagement  folks 
had  something  to  smile  about.  Men  no  longer 
raised  their  hats  when  they  met  this  country  girl 
who  wanted  to  marry  a  gentleman.  It  was  easy 
enough  to  get  people  to  stare  as  long  as  everything 
went  well,  but  as  soon  as  her  luck  turned,  they  were 
ready  to  jeer  at  her.  The  brothers,  too,  con- 
tributed their  share  of  sneers — storming  at  her  and 
saying  that  it  was  all  her  fault,  and  that  she 
brought  shame  and  disgrace  to  the  whole  family. 
They  decided  it  was  best  for  her  not  to  show  herself 
among  people,  and  went  around  with  their  eyes 
closed  as  if  the  daylight  was  too  strong  for  them. 
If  she  happened  to  come  while  they  sat  with  their 
heads  together,  immediately  there  was  silence. 

It  is  all  right  for  a  time  to  shut  yourself  up  in- 
doors, to  do  the  weaving,  washing,  cooking,  and 
milking,  and  to  keep  busy  outdoors  and  indoors 
from  five  in  the  morning  until  midnight.  It  keeps 
back  your  tears  and  holds  down  your  thoughts. 
But  lately  she  had  begun  to  burst  out  laughing 
when  one  least  expected  it — her  snickering  fright- 
ening herself  and  causing  her  brothers  to  jump. 


God  and  Woman 


Strange  thoughts  flitted  through  her  mind. 
"  What  if  you  should  run  away?  Your  brothers  be- 
lieve, perhaps,  that  you  are  tied  down  here  and  that 
they  will  never  be  put  to  any  expense  for  a  house- 
keeper or  a  maid.  But  what  if  you  should  break 
away  now?  People  would  sneer;  but  you  could 
stand  that.  You  might  want  to  go  to  the  fair  again 
— even  you.  What  if  you  should  do  that?  Ha,  ha, 
ha!  But  perhaps  you  don't  dare?  What  if  you 
should  dare?  Ha,  ha,  ha! "  Her  little  dry  laugh 
sounded  through  the  empty  house  and  gave  her  a 
start. 

She  stared  vacantly.  Her  body  began  to  sway 
back  and  forth. 

<rYou  must  find  something  else  to  do,  Martha. 
You  must  get  away  from  here,  or  you — or  you  will 
lose  your  wits.  You  will  go  insane.  Do  you  want 
to  do  that?" 

Outside,  the  sun  sank  slowly  down  toward  the 
greenish  blue  crest  of  mountains  back  of  the  fjord 
in  the  west.  From  the  band  of  forest  on  the  moun- 
tain-side the  ground  sloped  evenly  down  toward  the 
coast,  and  was  dotted  with  red,  grey,  and  yellow 
farm  buildings,  each  with  its  square  piece  of  ground 
where  field  and  meadow  seemed  to  sway  in  the 
gentle  south  wind.  All  the  windows  appeared  to 
have  their  gaze  fixed  upon  the  fjord  and  the  western 
sky,  because  it  was  from  this  direction  storms  and 
misfortunes  came  during  the  long  winters.  And 
upon  the  wide  silver-grey  river,  the  world  would 
ride  in  and  out  with  sometimes  white,  sometimes 


God  and  Woman 


weather-beaten  sails.  Often  large  ships,  bent  upon 
adventure,  would  come  in  from  the  very  sea  itself, 
or  from  some  distant  land.  It  might  happen  also 
on  a  summer  day  that  these  ships  would  have  music 
aboard. 

To-night  there  was  great  commotion  on  the  Priest 
river,  back  of  the  red  point  of  land  toward  the 
south.  Three  Lofoten  boats  lay  near  the  shore  and 
took  chests  and  boxes  and  people  aboard.  Men  in 
white  jumpers  and  hip  boots,  each  with  a  woman  or 
a  young  girl  in  his  arms,  waded  out  to  the  boats  and 
placed  them  aboard.  Black  and  mottled  shawls 
and  kerchiefs  fluttered  in  the  wind.  Laughter  and 
shouts  resounded.  "  Hey  there,  Kal  Koya,  while 
you  have  the  girl  in  your  arms,  why  don't  you  give 
her  a  kiss?  "  The  girl  twisted,  but  of  course  she 
could  not  throw  herself  into  the  bay.  Ah,  there 
was  plenty  of  fun  for  those  who  had  time  to  see  it. 

Close  to  the  point  lay  Steffen  Verket's  yacht, 
with  its  green  stripe  at  the  water-line,  taking  horses 
aboard.  The  crowds  on  the  shore  began  to  thin  out. 
There  were  small,  black  fjord  horses,  that  nodded 
their  heads  at  each  step  as  they  were  led  over  the 
sand,  and  bay,  nut-brown,  and  black  carriage  horses 
that  reared  and  snorted  and  plunged  and  refused  to 
go  aboard.  Several  men  held  one  by  the  bit,  while 
others  shoved  from  behind,  all  to  be  scattered  when 
the  horse  took  a  sidestep.  The  people  on  shore 
screamed  as  it  began  to  look  dangerous,  while  on  the 
boats  the  women  folk  also  screamed.  Steffen 
Verket,  with  his  black  beard  and  blue  skipper's 


8  God  and  Woman 

jacket,  stood  upon  the  roof  of  the  cabin  and  gave 
orders.  "  Hey  there,  Daniel  Flyta !  Are  you 
crazy?  Is  that  mare  of  yours  shod?  Do  you  want 
her  to  kick  the  planking  to  slivers  so  that  we'll  sink 
when  we  get  out  on  the  fjord?  " 

There  were  stalwart  farmers  on  the  verge  of  tears 
because  they  had  to  part  with  some  nag  they  had 
raised.  There  was  a  young  trader,  Hans  Lia,  who 
bought  to-day  and  sold  to-morrow — cows,  calves, 
horses,  and  herring ;  in  fact,  anything  that  could  be 
turned  into  money.  He  had  even  traded  his  way  to 
the  ownership  of  a  seine.  But  one  could  not  say 
exactly  that  he  was  well-to-do,  or  that  he  was  highly 
honoured.  He  would  drink  and  fight,  and  every 
time  he  went  to  town  he  would  land  in  jail  and  be 
fined.  He  was  a  big,  broad-shouldered  fellow,  with 
a  brown  beard  and  smiling  blue  eyes. 

"  Where  did  you  pick  up  those  calves?  "  shouted 
Ola  Ersland  to  Hans  as  he  led  his  two  black  fjord 
horses  up  the  gang  plank.  They  were  rather 
stunted  creatures  from  the  poor  district  on  the 
coast,  and  looked  as  if  they  had  been  raised  on  tar 
and  fish. 

"  In  England,"  said  Hans  as  he  turned  toward 
Ola.  He  brushed  his  beard  out  of  his  mouth  and 
said  very  confidentially :  "  They  were  bought  for 
the  King.  The  sheriff  ordered  them,  and,  early 
in  the  morning,  they  will  be  sent  to  Christiania." 

"Or,  you  confounded " 

Folks  laughed  and  slapped  their  thighs :  "  Ola 
Ersland  got  an  answer  to  his  question." 


God  and  Woman 


The  Lofoten  boats  had  got  under  way  and  the 
yacht  was  ready  to  cast  off  when  a  small  boy 
shouted :  "  Here  is  one  more  who  wants  to  go." 

All  looked  up  the  beach.  There  on  the  path 
among  the  rocks  appeared  a  tall  young  woman. 
She  wore  a  black  skirt  and  on  her  head  a  kerchief. 
In  one  hand  she  carried  a  basket,  and,  in  the  other, 
a  box.  She  was  out  of  breath,  and  looked  as  if  she 
had  been  running  in  order  to  be  in  time. 

"Well,  I  declare,  if  it  isn't  Martha  Ersland," 
someone  said,  and  everyone  on  the  yacht  and  on  the 
Lofoten  boats  stared  at  her. 

"  You'll  have  to  hurry,  if  you're  going  to  travel 
with  us,"  shouted  Steffen  Verket,  who  still  stood  on 
the  cabin  roof  of  his  yacht. 

But  one  of  the  Lofoten  boats  had  already  sent  out 
a  dory  to  fetch  her. 

Ola  Ersland  stared  at  her  for  a  moment.  "  You 
take  the  horse,"  he  said  to  his  brother  and  ran  to 
meet  his  sister.  He  reached  her  just  as  she  was 
about  to  step  into  the  dory. 

"  Where  in  the  Lord's  name  are  you  going?  " 

"  To  town/'  she  answered,  and  placed  her  basket 
and  box  in  the  dory. 

"  To  town !  "  he  stammered.  "  To  town !  You ! 
Are  you — are  you  crazy?  " 

"  Are  you  crazy  because  you're  going  to  town?  " 
she  asked  innocently.  And  now  she  was  aboard. 

Ola  pranced  about  in  the  sand  nervously  and 
clenched  his  fists.  It  couldn't  be  helped  since 
others  were  listening. 


IO  God  and  Woman 

"  You  ran  away  from  the  farm !  And  the  cows—- 
who is  going  to  look  after  the  cows?  " 

"  They  are  your  cows,"  she  said,  "  and  I  suppose 
you  are  the  best  one  to  look  after  them."  She  drew 
the  shawl  about  her  and  sat  down.  The  oarsman 
rested  his  oars,  uncertain  how  this  affair  would  turn 
out. 

"  Go  home,  Martha !  You  go  home,  and  go  this 
very  minute !  "  He  reached  out  to  take  hold  of  the 
dory. 

"  Bow,"  said  Martha.  The  oars  dug  into  the 
fjord,  and  the  dory  shot  from  the  land.  Aboard  the 
boats  there  was  silence.  Everyone  stared. 

Ola  Ersland,  in  anger  walked  up  the  beach. 

"  Are  you  going  with  us? "  shouted  Steffen 
Verket. 

"  No." 

Ola  turned  abruptly  toward  his  brother  aboard 
the  yacht. 

"  You'll  have  to  sell  the  mare.  Do  the  best  you 
can,  Martin.  The  one  who  has  a  little  brains  left 
will  have  to  use  'em.  The  stock  will  have  to  be 
looked  after." 

He  set  out  up  the  path,  clenching  his  right  fist 
and  swinging  it  angrily  above  his  head. 

When  Martha  came  aboard,  the  other  women  who 
sat  around  the  mast  made  room  for  her.  She  did 
not  say  a  word;  nor  did  she  look  at  anyone.  She 
sat  down,  placed  her  basket  upon  her  lap,  rested  her 
head  back  against  a  chest,  and  looked  straight 
ahead. 


God  and  Woman  n 

The  four  vessels  lay  almost  in  a  line  when  the 
sails  were  raised.  There  was  just  breeze  enough  to 
give  the  mirror-like  surface  of  the  fjord  a  bluish 
tint.  It  was  nearly  midnight,  but  still  as  light  as 
day.  Only  a  narrow  strip  of  cultivated  land  under 
the  mountains  to  the  west  lay  in  light  blue  shadows. 
In  this  very  same  way  had  the  forefathers  sailed  to 
the  St.  Hans  fair  on  a  light  summer  night  since  time 
out  of  mind.  And  now  again  the  slender  Lofoten 
boats,  with  their  square  mainsails  and  topsails, 
moved  slowly  over  the  calm  fjord.  They  had  sailed 
the  Lofoten  Sea  all  winter  and  had  weathered  the 
northeast  storms  of  the  spring.  Now,  however, 
their  sides  had  a  fresh  coat  of  tar,  and  the  white 
stripe  along  the  water-line  was  newly  painted. 
The  fishermen  were  weather-beaten,  and,  by  com- 
mon agreement,  old  and  young  wore  a  brush  of 
beard  under  the  chin.  They  lit  their  pipes  and 
sought  out  comfortable  places.  This  trip  to  the 
fair  was  almost  like  a  wedding. 

"Whose  baby  is  that  bawling?"  Kal  Koya 
shouted  to  the  yacht — a  colt  was  whinnying  and 
causing  a  disturbance  among  the  horses. 

"  Ah,  baby  yourself,"  replied  Steffen  Verket.  He 
stood  now  with  the  tiller  in  one  hand  and  a  cookie 
in  the  other. 

"  Haven't  you  a  wet-nurse  aboard  who  can  feed 
it?" 

A  peal  of  laughter  burst  over  the  silent  fjord. 
Kal  Koya,  the  little  fellow  with  the  big  wreath  of 


12  God  and  Woman 

red  whiskers  and  the  gold  ear-rings,  was  always 
playing  the  clown. 

Where  the  fjord  extended  inland  toward  the  east 
it  became  wide  almost  like  the  ocean.  The  wind 
died  down.  The  sails  hung  limp.  Soon  the  fjord 
was  smooth  as  glass.  The  mountains  to  the  west 
were  mirrored  so  distinctly  in  the  water  that  the 
green  hills  and  the  snow-capped  tops  seemed  to  rest 
upon  the  surface  of  the  water.  The  four  vessels  out 
on  the  fjord  hovered  over  red  clouds  and  blue  sky. 
Their  dark  hulls  and  slack  sails  were  also  mirrored 
in  the  fjord.  No  other  vessels  were  visible.  The 
vast,  shining  surface  was  without  movement  and 
without  sound.  Even  the  eider  ducks,  gathered  in 
large  flocks,  lay  floating  near  the  shore  with  their 
heads  under  their  wings. 

The  conversation  aboard  the  boats  also  died 
down.  Around  the  mast,  in  the  bow,  and  in  the 
stern,  the  passengers  found  as  comfortable  positions 
as  they  could  and  closed  their  eyes.  Most  of  them 
turned  their  faces  toward  the  east,  as  if  to  be  ready 
to  welcome  the  dawn.  The  dories  in  tow  of  the 
Lofoten  boats  resembled  children  with  permission 
to  accompany  mother. 

The  man  at  the  tiller  kept  his  pipe  warm,  and  sat 
quietly  and  observed  the  weather.  He  saw  the  glow 
in  the  western  sky  move  slowly  toward  the  north. 
He  saw  it  leave  the  north  and  work  its  way  toward 
the  east  with  steadily  increasing  brightness.  The 
flocks  of  birds  woke  up  and  made  trails  upon  the 
smooth  surface.  The  faces  which  were  turned 


God  and  Woman  13 

toward  the  east  began  to  take  on  a  red  tinge.  A 
day  had  ended  an  hour  ago.  Now  a  new  day  was 
born.  Several  of  the  sleepers  opened  their  eyes  and 
sat  upright.  The  eastern  sky  was  afire.  The  fir- 
clad  hills  far  in  the  distance  seemed  sprinkled  with 
gold.  A  few  small  billows,  hardly  big  enough  to  be 
seen,  came  rolling  along,  bearing  a  burden  of  light. 
They  came  nearer,  then  sank  again  into  the  deep. 
It  was  just  a  little  playful  mimicry;  then  it  wa8 
gone. 

The  sun  rose.  The  passengers  began  to  move 
about  and  shake  themselves.  It  becomes  cold  at 
night  on  the  fjord,  even  at  midsummer  time. 

All  at  once  the  sails  wake  up  and  belly  out  from 
the  mast.  The  boats  are  set  in  motion.  The  sun 
had  awakened  the  north  wind.  Out  there  from  the 
mouth  of  the  fjord  it  comes  with  a  school  of  small 
billows  leading  the  way !  The  vast  mirror  vanishes, 
and  soon  the  fjord  is  one  great  living  field  of  rol- 
licking waves. 

Everyone  is  awake.  The  late  sleepers  rub  their 
eyes,  feeling  quite  fresh;  shouts  and  laughter 
sound  again  from  one  boat  to  the  other,  while,  to 
add  to  the  merriment,  the  grey-bearded  sacristan, 
who  wanted  to  change  places,  slipped  and  fell  back- 
wards into  a  basket  of  eggs.  When  he  arose,  the 
back  of  his  grey  homespun  was  a  sorry-looking  yel- 
low. Those  who  had  not  been  fully  awake  became 
so  now. 

Shortly  afterwards  smoke  arose  from  the  cockpit 
in  the  stern;  and  from  one  of  the  neighbouring 


14  God  and  Woman 

boats  Thomas  Konningen  shouted:  "What  is  it 
you're  cooking  over  there  that  smells  so  good?" 

Kal  Koya  was  making  pancakes  of  the  broken 
eggs.  Of  course,  there  was  no  stove  aboard,  but  he 
lit  a  fire  in  the  bottom  of  an  empty  herring  barrel. 
A  tin  plate  served  as  a  frying-pan ;  and  in  order  not 
to  burn  his  fingers,  he  held  it  over  the  fire  with  a 
pair  of  blacksmith's  tongs. 

"  I  suppose  you  will  invite  us  to  your  party," 
shouted  Hans  Lia,  who  was  aboard  the  yacht. 

Toward  the  south  there  appeared  through  the 
haze,  first  a  crest  of  mountains,  then  houses  under 
the  crest,  many  houses,  then  steeples  and  masts. 
This  was  where  the  bishop  lived.  "  It  is  the  town," 
sounded  from  many  lips,  and  all  looked  in  that 
direction.  Soon  there  were  ever  so  many  houses 
under  the  brilliant  light  of  the  rising  sun.  They 
came  gradually  nearer.  The  town  loomed  large, 
the  churches  sending  up  gilded  spires  from  the  mass 
of  houses.  The  rattle  of  a  wagon  and  the  noise 
from  the  stone  bridge  could  be  heard.  Along  the 
harbour  front  was  a  row  of  wharves,  where  the 
names  of  firms  in  large  black  letters  finally  could  be 
made  out :  "  Halvard  Kustad,  Herring — Fish." 
That  was  the  town. 

Inside  the  breakwater  they  rowed  through  a 
world  of  steamships  and  sailing-vessels,  which 
seemed  to  be  without  a  living  soul  aboard.  Farther 
along  in  the  harbour  there  were  smaller  vessels, 
yachts  and  boats  of  different  kinds,  and,  above 
them,  a  flock  of  white  seagulls  shrieked.  There 


God  and  Woman  15 

was  an  odour  of  rotten  water,  of  herring  and  fish, 
and  tar  and  rubbish,  which  caused  the  horses'  nos- 
trils to  dilate. 

Now  there  was  a  stir  on  board  to  find  a  place  to 
land.  Along  all  the  wharves  were  steamships  and 
sailing-vessels.  The  public  landings  were  crowded 
with  boats.  How  in  the  world  would  they  ever  get 
the  horses  ashore? 

"  Hang  it  all,  we'll  tie  up  at  the  ferry  landing," 
said  Steffen  Verket,  and  made  a  line  ready. 

Two  men  in  blue  jumpers  stood  up  in  a  couple  of 
boats  tied  to  the  landing.  One  was  tall,  had  a  large 
red  nose,  and  wore  white  duck  trousers.  The  other 
was  small,  and  had  a  foxy,  pock-marked  face. 

"  What  do  you  want,  good  folks?  "  asked  the  tall 
man  as  he  reached  for  his  boat-hook. 

"  I  say,  may  we  tie  up  here  so  we  can  put  our 
horses  ashore?"  asked  Steffen  very  politely.  But 
the  two  ferrymen  were  well-known  characters. 
Politeness  was  of  no  use  here. 

"  What,  tie  up  here  and  kick  our  landing  to 
slivers !  No !  You  fellows  better  get  the  'ell  out  of 
here,  or  we'll  call  the  police." 

Now  the  wrangling  began.  The  men  in  the  boats 
called  the  ferrymen  lazy  loafers,  gipsies,  and  good- 
for-nothing  louts.  And  the  two  ferrymen,  now  on 
the  landing,  ran  about  on  their  slim  legs,  swung 
their  boat-hooks  in  the  air,  and  cursed  the  "potato- 
diggers."  "  You  go  straight  to  hell  with  your  old 
nags  and  your  rotten  women  folks." 

Suddenly  a  great  many  strange  beings  gathered 


16  God  and  Woman 

from  the  landings  and  the  wharf-sheds — loafers, 
tramps,  and  beggars,  who  thought  that  perhaps 
they  might  see  some  fun.  There  were  blue  noses 
among  them,  and  trousers  with  half  a  leg  missing. 
Naturally  they  sided  with  the  two  ferrymen.  "  To 
hell  with  the  lousy  potato-diggers ! "  When  Kal 
Koya  reached  for  the  landing  with  his  boat-hook 
there  was  a  shower  of  brickbats.  Now  the  fight 
was  on  in  earnest. 

The  women  aboard  cried  hysterically. 

"  We'll  have  to  give  in/'  said  Steffen  Verket,  and 
scratched  his  head.  "  But  if  we  do,  damn  it  all, 
we'll  have  to  go  way  up  north  of  the  town  to  put 
the  horses  ashore." 

At  this  moment  a  splash  was  heard.  Hans  Lia 
had  jumped  overboard  from  the  yacht  and  had  taken 
one  of  the  horses  with  him.  All  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  Hans.  Now  the  women  had  something  more 
to  scream  about.  The  rabble  on  the  landing 
shouted  hurrah,  until  they  understood  that  he  was 
making  for  the  shore.  This  man,  whose  head  came 
up  out  of  the  filthy  water,  followed  by  a  horse,  was 
surely  an  aggressor. 

"Hey  there,  hit  him  with  a  brick!  Earn  that 
boat-hook  through  his  head !  "  came  from  the  crowd. 
Then  someone  shouted :  "  It's  Hans  Lia !  "  The 
crowd  drew  back  for  a  moment.  Was  it  Hans  Lia? 
They  knew  him  from  former  times. 

Before  they  knew  what  was  happening,  he  had 
crawled  up  on  the  landing  and  dragged  the  horse 
after  him.  The  poor  beast  arched  his  back  and 


God  and  Woman  17 

shook  himself,  so  that  the  water  rained  in  all  direc- 
tions. Hans  was  dripping  wet  and  had  lost  his  hat. 

"  What  do  you  want  here?  "  one  of  the  crowd 
shouted,  coming  nearer. 

"  To  teach  you  common  decency,"  Hans  replied, 
and  the  next  moment  he  had  snatched  a  boat-hook 
from  one  of  the  ferrymen.  That  was  enough. 
That  was  more  than  city  folks  could  stand.  Now 
things  grew  lively.  Now  there  was  attack. 

"  Throw  him  in  the  bay ! "  Hans  was  alone. 
Empty  bottles  and  stones  whizzed  through  the  air. 
Knives  flashed.  The  horse  snorted  from  fear, 
reared  and  plunged.  Suddenly  Hans  sat  astride 
the  horse.  Then  he  was  better  able  to  swing  the 
boat-hook.  Fortunately,  it  was  made  of  good  stout 
birch,  and  had  an  iron  hook,  also  a  spike,  at  one 
end.  Oaths  and  shrieks  of  pain  were  heard.  The 
horse  foamed  and  danced  about,  keeping  most  of  the 
crowd  at  a  distance,  but  it  could  not  find  a  place  to 
break  through.  All  aboard  the  boats  stared.  The 
men  saw  that  Hans  was  alone.  But  they  were  not 
related  to  him.  And  what  if  the  police  should 
come!  To  follow  Hans  Lia  to  jail! — no  one  had 
any  desire  to  do  that. 

"  Don't  you  see  they  are  getting  the  best  of  him !  " 
one  of  the  women  aboard  shouted  suddenly. 

It  was  Martha  Ersland,  who  was  standing  on  the 
edge  of  the  boat  with  her  hand  on  the  rigging. 

"  Are  there  no  men  folks  here  who  dare "  and 

she  threw  a  bailing-bucket  into  the  midst  of  the 
crowd  on  shore.  But  none  of  the  men  aboard 


1 8  God  and  Woman 

seemed  to  have  courage  to  do  more  than  use  their 
tongue.  Hans  continued  to  fight  alone.  There 
were  shrieks  and  groans  and  oaths,  but  they  did  not 
come  from  Hans.  On  the  ships  in  the  neighbour- 
hood sleepy  heads  appeared,  curious  to  know  what 
was  happening. 

One  by  one  the  rabble  began  to  slink  away,  one 
with  his  hand  over  his  nose,  another,  limping,  with 
his  hand  over  his  back.  The  tall  ferryman  lay  in  a 
swoon.  The  other  sneaked  down  into  his  boat  and 
swore  he  would  pay  the  damned  farmers  for  this. 
Hans  looked  for  his  assailants.  What  had  become 
of  them?  His  face  was  bloody,  but  nevertheless  he 
grinned.  This  was  great  sport  for  him. 

"  Now  you  can  come  ashore,  my  good  friends,"  he 
said.  "  Now  there  is  plenty  of  room." 

Finally  the  police  came.  The  first  one  they  ar- 
rested was  Hans.  They  knew  him  from  of  old.  He 
had  to  give  up  his  horse  and  go  along  with  them. 

When  Martha  had  stepped  ashore  she  heard  her 
brother  call,  so  she  waited.  "  Where  do  you  expect 
to  stop?  "  he  asked,  his  face  green  with  anger. 

She  looked  at  him  from  head  to  foot  and  said: 
"  You  didn't  dare  to  risk  your  skin  either,  you 
wretch ! "  Then  she  went  her  way  and  let  him 
rage. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  II 

IT  was  about  five  o'clock  when  she  walked  along  the 
harbour  carrying  her  basket  and  her  box.  The  sun 
was  up,  but  the  town  still  slept.  Aboard  the  boats, 
sleepy  country  people  who  had  come  to  town  for  the 
fair  began  to  crawl  out  and  rub  their  eyes.  In  a 
ten-oar  boat,  having  a  green  stripe  along  the  water- 
line,  two  young  women  were  seen  combing  their 
hair  and  leaning  over  the  gunwale  in  order  to  use 
the  smooth  surface  of  the  fjord  as  a  mirror. 

Up  through  the  wide  main  street  leading  from  the 
harbour  to  the  cathedral  were  long  rows  of  white 
tents  for  the  accommodation  of  visiting  traders. 
Everything  was  still  closed,  and,  behind  all  the  shop 
windows,  the  curtains  were  down. 

In  the  courtyard  at  Gaustad's  a  man  was  curry- 
ing a  horse  that  was  tied  to  a  post  at  a  watering- 
trough,  when  Martha  arrived  and  inquired  for  lodg- 
ings. A  sleepy  maid  appeared,  looked  at  her  in- 
quiringly, and  wanted  to  know  whether  she  had 
brought  her  own  fur-coverlet. 

"  No,"  said  Martha. 

"  Well,  then  it  will  cost  you  three  shillings  a 
night,  If  you  had  brought  your  own  fur  it  would 
be  two." 

Martha  was  ushered  into  an  old-fashioned  peas- 

19 


2O  God  and  Woman 

ant's  lodging-house — a  large  room  with  beds  in 
three  tiers  around  the  walls.  There  was  a  concert 
of  snores,  loud  and  soft.  The  air  had  an  oppressive 
odour  of  sweat,  wet  clothes,  tar,  strong  tobacco,  and 
brandy. 

On  the  floor  chests  and  boxes,  men's  clothes,  and 
women's  clothes  lay  scattered  helter-skelter. 

"You  may  take  this  place,"  said  the  maid,  point- 
ing to  a  bed  in  the  lowest  tier.  "  We're  expecting 
a  woman  from  Kristianssund,  who  is  going  to  sleep 
in  the  same  bed." 

Martha  took  off  her  shoes  and  stockings  and  lay 
down  between  the  dirty  blankets.  It  was  fright- 
fully warm.  A  pale  woman  in  a  bed  across  the 
room  coughed  and  spat  up  blood.  A  sailor,  who  was 
drunk,  tossed  about  wildly  in  his  sleep,  uttering 
curses  and  shouts.  An  old  man  with  white  hair 
and  beard,  occupying  the  bed  above  him,  groaned 
and  prayed  for  his  wretched  soul.  In  the  top  tier 
above  her  own  bed,  a  young  man  and  a  young 
woman  were  talking  and  laughing.  All  the  others 
slept  and  were  snoring. 

Martha  closed  her  eyes.  Oh,  what  a  day !  But 
why  did  she  come  to  town?  What  could  she  have 
to  do  with  young  folks  now?  And  what  good 
would  it  do  her  to  go  back  to  Ersland,  after  what 
had  happened  yesterday? 

At  last  she  went  to  sleep,  and  she  dreamed  of 
Hans  Lia.  He  had  been  fighting  again  and  she 
must  help  him  dress  his  wounds. 

Later  in  the  day  she  went  out  alone  in  the  busy 


God  and  Woman  21 

and  happy  town.  First  she  went  to  the  market- 
place and  sold  her  butter  and  eggs.  Then  she  wan- 
dered about  among  the  crowds  between  the  rows  of 
tents,  where  country  folk  haggled  and  bought  and 
talked  and  laughed.  There  was  cloth  of  many 
colours  from  Sweden,  tin  buckets  and  copper  kettles 
from  Biri,  canvas  with  nickel-plated  fastenings,  and 
all  sorts  of  pretty  things.  There  were  folks  from 
the  coast  and  from  the  inland  districts,  farmers  in 
home-spun,  fishermen  in  jumpers,  and,  here  and 
there,  a  Lap  in  his  quaint  dress.  Then  she  drifted 
out  into  some  of  the  other  streets  of  the  town  and 
wondered  what  to  do  to  make  the  time  pass.  Cari- 
oles  with  drunken  men  thundered  by.  No  doubt 
they  were  trying  out  a  horse  they  thought  of  buying. 
Once  she  stopped  and  stared.  A  gentleman  in  a 
light  suit  and  hat,  with  a  lady  at  his  side,  drove 
by  in  a  cart.  They  were,  no  doubt,  engaged. 
Wasn't  that  the  forester  at  Myr? 

Two  men  on  horseback  rushed  by  at  breakneck 
speed  and  a  policeman  ran  after  them.  The  horses 
were  foaming.  The  men  had  their  hats  on  crooked, 
and  shouted  and  sang.  One  of  them  was  Hans  Lia. 
What  would  he  be  up  to  to-day? 

The  third  and  last  day  of  the  fair  the  visitors 
began  to  go  home,  and  there  was  nothing  for  Martha 
to  do  but  go  aboard  one  of  the  Lofoten  boats  to- 
gether with  the  other  folks  from  her  neighbourhood. 
The  boats  were  loaded  with  all  sorts  of  wares. 
Farmers'  wagons,  shining  with  fresh  paint,  ex- 
tended their  arms  over  the  gunwale.  New  spinning 


22  God  and  Woman 

wheels  and  looms  were  piled  up  around  the  mast. 
Steffen  Verket's  yacht  was  again  loaded  down  with 
horses,  for  those  who  had  sold  had  bought  others 
again.  Steffen  Verket  stood  upon  the  cabin  roof 
of  his  yacht  and  chewed  and  spat  and  raged. 

"  Who  is  it  we're  waiting  for?  "  someone  asked. 

"  Oh,  it  is  Hans  Lia,  of  course.  If  we  did  the 
right  thing  we'd  start  out  without  him,  so  help 
me " 

"  Hans  Lia — he  was  dead  drunk  to-day.  I  guess 
he  must  be  in  jail  again." 

"  Well,  then  he  can  stay  there.  We  have  other 
things  to  do  than  to  lay  here  and  wait  for  that 
scamp." 

Martha  had  been  sitting  quietly  near  the  mast. 
Now  she  rose,  and,  just  as  the  boat  had  started  to 
move  from  the  landing,  she  caught  hold  of  the  rig- 
ging and  jumped  ashore.  She  walked  hurriedly  in 
the  direction  of  the  town.  The  people  aboard 
stared  after  her.  The  skipper  called  to  her  and 
asked  if  she  was  coming  along  with  them.  She  did 
not  reply.  Then  her  brother  also  jumped  ashore 
and  set  out  after  her  without  saying  a  word.  All 
aboard  gazed  first  at  him,  then  at  one  another. 

"  They're  queer  people,"  said  one,  and  grinned. 

"  Well,  if  people  are  crazy,  let  'em  be  crazy,"  said 
Steffen  Verket.  "  Now  we're  off.  Ho,  there,  let 
go  the  line !  " 

The  next  day  Hans  Lia  sat  on  a  stairway  in  a 
livery  stable  and  drank,  in  celebration  of  a  horse 
sale,  with  a  black-whiskered  gipsy.  He  dared  not 


God  and  Woman  23 

become  sober,  because  Birit  Besvolden,  his  sweet- 
heart, was  hunting  for  him  from  one  end  of  the  town 
to  the  other,  and,  no  doubt,  there  would  be  great 
lamentation  when  finally  she  should  find  him.  He 
had  a  bloody  bandage  over  his  forehead.  His  hat 
hung  down  over  one  ear.  His  eyes  were  red  because 
of  drink  and  loss  of  sleep. 

The  gipsy  proposed  a  game  of  cards.  A  piece  of 
board  was  found  which  they  placed  upon  their 
knees.  When  the  cards  appeared,  another  gipsy, 
with  a  black  moustache,  entered  from  a  doorway 
and  sat  down  with  them. 

Hans  lost.  He  brought  out  a  leather  wallet, 
bulging  with  bills,  from  an  inside  breast  pocket.  It 
looked  as  if  he  had  done  some  clever  trading  this 
year.  The  gipsies  produced  a  bottle.  Hans  placed 
it  to  his  mouth  and  took  a  deep  draft.  Then  he 
began  to  sing  a  jolly  song. 

The  gipsies  pretended  they  also  drank  out  of  the 
bottle,  and  wanted  Hans  to  drink  again.  "  Take 
another  drink.  We  have  more  in  the  stall." 

There  were  steps  outside.  The  gipsies  saw  a 
young  woman  come  in  and  look  straight  at  them. 
Before  Hans  had  taken  the  bottle  from  his  mouth,  a 
hand  was  placed  upon  his  shoulder. 

"  Come  with  me,  Hans.     The  fair  is  over  now." 

Hans  lowered  the  bottle.  Was  he  dreaming? 
This  was  not  Birit  Besvolden.  This  was  not 
his  whining  sweetheart.  It  was  Martha  Ersland, 
who  once  was  to  be  a  fine  lady  at  Myr,  who  had  gone 
to  school  at  the  parsonage,  and  who  thought  she 


24  God  and  Woman 

was  too  good  to  associate  with  the  young  people  of 
the  parish.  What  did  she  want  with  him? 

"  Come  with  me,  Hans." 

"  Is  it  your  sister  or  your  sweetheart  who  is  after 
you  and  wants  to  hold  court?  "  sneered  one  of  the 
gipsies,  anxious  to  be  rid  of  her. 

flans  rose  to  his  feet.  Had  it  been  the  other  one 
he  would  have  used  his  tongue  and  sent  her  about 
her  business.  Now  he  could  only  stand  and  stare. 
He  put  away  the  bottle,  looked  at  his  untidy  clothes, 
passed  his  hand  over  the  bandage  on  his  head,  and 
felt  very  much  humiliated  that  things  should  be  as 
they  were. 

"  Come  with  me.  Is  that  your  pocket-book?  " 
She  picked  it  up  and  placed  it  in  his  inside  breast 
pocket.  Hans  grinned  in  a  shamefaced  sort  of  way 
at  the  two  angry  gipsies,  but  the  next  moment  he 
followed  her. 

At  this  very  moment  Martha's  brother  was  rush- 
ing about,  hunting  for  his  sister.  He  visited  all  the 
lodging-houses  and  every  store  in  town.  He  did 
not  dare  go  home  without  her.  He  was  afraid  she 
might  get  into  all  sorts  of  mischief  if  she  were  al- 
lowed to  go  about  alone. 

It  turned  out  worse  than  anyone  could  dream,  for 
the  next  day,  when  finally  he  did  spy  her  on  the 
street,  she  was  with  Hans  Lia.  They  walked  on 
either  side  of  his  new  horse.  And  when  the  brother 
spoke  to  them,  they  said  they  were  engaged,  and 
were  to  be  married  very  soon. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  III 

FAR  up  among  the  hills  there  is  a  small  farm.  The 
buildings  are  old  and  drab.  Only  a  few  strips  of 
land  here  and  there  between  rocks  and  bogs  are  cul- 
tivated. But  smoke  rises  from  the  little  cottage 
and  in  the  field  Hans  is  ploughing  with  a  small 
black  fjord  horse.  Spring  has  come  at  last  even  up 
here.  The  birches  are  in  bud.  The  little  wagtails 
hop  along  in  the  furrows  after  Hans,  picking  at  the 
freshly  turned  soil.  "  Gee-up,  Blackie ! "  The 
plough  threatens  to  stop  from  time  to  time,  but  the 
little  thin-legged  horse  pulls  with  all  his  might  and 
drags  it  on  and  on.  The  song  of  the  cuckoo  is  heard 
•in  the  south. 

Hans  wondered  if  Martha  would  soon  call  him  in 
to  dinner.  For  nearly  two  years  he  had  puzzled 
and  pondered  over  the  strange  fact  that  he  and 
Martha  were  married — that  such  a  fine  lady  as 
Martha  should  throw  herself  away  and  move  out 
into  the  backwoods  with  such  a  brigand  as  he — but 
don't  think  for  a  moment  that  she  sat  in  the  house, 
listlessly,  and  fretted  over  what  she  had  done.  Of 
course,  it  was  a  rascally  thing  to  break  so  hastily 
with  the  other  one ;  but  when  he  became  acquainted 
with  Brit,  who  could  have  thought  that  the  finest 
girl  in  the  parish  would  come  one  day  and  actually 

25 


26  God  and  Woman 

throw  herself  into  his  arms?  What  could  be  more 
honourable  than  to  separate  oneself  from  that 
which  is  inferior?  And  now  Birit  had  gone  to 
America,  and  the  Lord  bless  her  wherever  she  was ; 
for  there  she  would  not  stand  in  the  way  of  any- 
body. 

But  then,  there  was  himself — God  help  us!  It 
was  easy  enough  to  promise  and  swear  that  he 
would  become  an  honest,  respectable  man,  so  that 
Martha  would  not  have  any  sorrow  on  his  account. 
But  we  human  beings  are  not  all  made  of  the  same 
stuff.  One  is  like  a  Bible  and  another  only  wind 
and  weather.  As  for  Martha,  she  was  always  right, 
and  there  was  hardly  anything  she  did  not  under- 
stand. And  he — and  he !  "  Well,  Blackie,  I  sup- 
pose you'd  better  stop  and  rest  awhile." 

Hans  turned  around  where  he  stood,  between  the 
handles  of  the  plough,  wiped  the  perspiration  from 
his  forehead,  looked  at  the  grey,  yellowish  sky  in 
the  west,  and  nodded  his  head.  No,  they  were  not 
made  of  the  same  stuff.  Martha  wanted  to  save 
every  shilling,  and  he  would  rather  earn  a  dollar 
to-day,  lose  it  to-morrow,  and  earn  two  again  when 
luck  came  his  way.  That  was  the  thing  they  could 
not  agree  upon.  When  he  was4  a  fisherman,  shortly 
after  their  marriage,  an  enormous  school  of  herring 
one  day  came  up  the  fjord.  He  set  his  net  out  at 
Hitra,  and,  in  one  night,  was  as  rich  as  a  savings 
bank.  The  following  day  there  was  a  wind-storm 
off  shore.  The  herring  went  out  to  sea  again  and 
he  stood  there  the  same  beggar  as  before.  The  one 


God  and  Woman  27 

thing  was  good,  the  other  was  still  better.  Martha 
was  on  the  point  of  crying,  while  he  felt  like  throw- 
ing his  hat  into  the  air  and  shouting :  "  Hurrah ! 
The  sea  gives  and  the  sea  takes  again !  "  Unless  one 
wave  dashed  sky  high  and  the  other  sank  into  the 
night  again,  sailing  would  not  be  such  a  pleasure. 
However,  Martha  had  her  way.  He  sold  the  net, 
and  bought  the  only  little  farm  they  could  find 
which  was  within  their  means.  Martha  and  the 
good  Lord  were  the  only  persons  who  seemed  to 
know  what  benefit  it  was  to  anyone  to  go  there  day 
after  day  and  dig  in  a  piece  of  stony  ground  far 
away  from  any  other  human  being. 

But  then  again — trading,  of  course,  is  trading. 
It  reminds  one  somewhat  of  throwing  out  a  fishing- 
net.  A  trade  may  act  like  a  glass  of  brandy  with 
pepper.  It  may  fill  a  person  with  so  much  foolish- 
ness that  he  feels  like  throwing  back  his  head  and 
shouting.  To  trade  is  not  to  earn  these  shillings. 
No,  it  is  like  tossing  your  neighbour  up  in  a  blanket. 
It  is  to  make  him  believe  that  an  old  worn-out  nag 
is  in  reality  a  prince  of  England.  The  minister 
calls  it  swindling.  Well,  perhaps  it  is.  But  it  is 
too  bad  the  good  Lord  should  be  so  set  against  a 
little  deceit  like  that;  for  it  is  so  jolly.  To  send 
away  a  sensible  man  with  a  nose  twice  as  long  as  he 
thinks  it  is — why,  it  is  like  dancing  at  a  wedding. 
It  is  the  same  with  swearing.  It  tastes  on  the 
tongue  like  a  good  drink  of  brandy  or  a  fresh  chew 
of  tobacco.  But,  of  course,  Martha  was  right.  And 


28  God  and  Woman 

in  time  he  would  have  to  become  a  model  man  and 
an  example  to  others — Martha  had  said  he  must. 

If  only  one  were  not  so  shut  in !  Hills  cut  off  the 
view  in  every  direction.  One  could  not  see  a  neigh- 
bour, nor  the  mountains  to  the  west,  nor  the  fjord 
where  the  wide  world  came  and  went  under  white  or 
weather-beaten  sails.  It  seemed  hard  to  draw 
breath.  Here  one's  mental  horizon  no  longer  took 
in  a  province,  but  was  confined  to  a  gloomy  stall. 
One  would  end  by  having  a  restless  craving  for  a 
larger  outlook,  for  a  little  fire  in  the  blood,  for 
excitement,  for  something  breezy  that  would  snatch 
off  the  hat,  even  if  it  were  only  a  good  fight.  Then 
one  day  something  began  to  call  him — yes,  it  called 
him.  He  would  wake  up  at  night  and  hear  it. 
When  the  sun  sank  into  the  sea  he  would  hear  the 
same  call.  Did  it  come  from  the  air,  or  out  of  his 
pocket,  or  was  it  the  call  of  a  living  being  without  a 
name? — Move  along  there,  Hans!  Go  to  this  place 
and  that!  Yes — and  he  would  have  to  go,  even 
though  he  were  ever  so  much  married  to  Martha 
Ersland.  And  then,  one  day,  when  he  was  ready 

to   return   home   and   approached   the   house 

"  No,  Blackie,  gee-up  again!  " 

"  Come  in  to  dinner,"  was  heard  from  the  cottage 
door. 

Martha  had  learned  from  experience  that  Hans 
would  come  when  it  happened  to  suit  his  fancy,  so 
she  sat  down  at  the  spinning-wheel  again  and  made 
it  hum  while  the  sun  streamed  in  over  the  newly 
scrubbed  floor,  strewn  with  spruce  branches. 


God  and  Woman  29 

Martha  still  looked  like  a  young  girl.  She  was 
ruddy  and  slender  and  supple.  There  were  no 
flowers  in  the  window,  no  costly  clock  upon  the 
wall.  There  were  only  a  table,  a  couple  of  benches, 
and  a  chair  or  two.  Soon  after  she  had  moved  to 
this  house  she  received  word  from  her  brothers  that 
the  bureau  and  commode  and  bed  which  belonged 
to  her  had  been  placed  out  in  the  yard,  and  that  she 
might  have  them  whenever  she  liked.  She  replied 
that  as  they  had  helped  themselves  to  all  the  rest, 
they  might  as  well  keep  these  also.  Rumour  had  a 
way  of  penetrating  even  to  this  out-of-the-way 
place,  and  she  knew  they  were  saying  that  she 
would  end  some  day  upon  the  highway  with  a  pack 
on  her  back.  Perhaps  they  were  right,  but  it  would 
take  two  to  settle  that  matter. 

As  for  Hans,  she  did  not  marry  him  as  a  result  of 
a  long  period  of  deliberation.  It  is  possible  to  look  ) 
over  a  precipice  so  long  that  one  is  gripped  by  a  S 
desire  to  jump  over.  She  did  not  know  yet  whether 
she  had  landed  on  her  feet,  and  whether  there  was 
solid  ground  for  her  to  stand  upon.  She  went 
about  in  a  curious  sort  of  delirium — Hans  saw  to 
that.  She  never  knew  in  the  morning  what  he 
would  be  up  to  before  evening.  If  one  has  a  hus- 
\  band  of  whom  one  thinks  a  great  deal,  there  is  not 
much  time  for  thinking  about  oneself,  especially  if 
he  is  like  a  skittish  horse  that  travels  along  very 
quietly  one  moment,  but,  the  next,  becomes  unman- 
ageable. 

Steps  were  heard  outside.     The  door  was  opened, 


30  God  and  Woman 

and  there  stood  Hans  in  his  shirt-sleeves,  bare- 
headed and  perspiring.  His  eyes  twinkled.  No 
doubt  he  was  thinking  of  something  amusing  which 
was  to  be  kept  from  Martha. 

They  ate  hurriedly  the  simple  meal  of  porridge 
and  milk  and  said  nothing.  He  wiped  his  brown 
beard,  and  gave  her  a  side  glance  now  and  then  as  if 
to  see  whether  or  not  her  countenance  indicated 
clear  weather.  When  she  sat  down  at  the  spinning- 
wheel,  and  he  had  filled  his  pipe,  he  came  over  to 
Martha,  put  his  arms  around  her,  and  asked,  in  his 
very  best  manner,  if  she  knew  where  the  matches 
were. 

"  Go  and  look  for  yourself  in  the  kitchen,"  she 
said,  and  remained  at  the  spinning-wheel. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  I'll  have  to  finish  ploughing 
that  field,"  he  said,  after  his  pipe  was  lit. 

"  But  the  mare  hasn't  had  time  to  finish  eating 
yet." 

He  went  out. 

When  thus  he  became  tender  and  wanted  to  caress 
her,  Martha  could  expect  that  something  unpleasant 
would  happen  before  evening. 

She  heard  him  drive  over  the  field,  and,  a  little 
later,  when  she  stood  at  the  window,  she  saw  the 
poor  horse  tugging  away  at  the  plough  as  if  he  were 
about  to  drop  from  exhaustion. 

She  made  up  her  mind  she  would  go  to  the  barn 
before  she  went  to  bed  and  comfort  the  poor  horse 
with  an  extra  measure  of  oats. 

The  evening  came,  and  from  the  mild  spring  sky 


God  and  Woman  31 

a  light  blue  twilight  spread  over  forest  and  hill- 
side. Hans  came  in  and  ate  his  evening  meal  as 
usual,  lit  his  pipe,  but  soon  became  restless  and 
went  out  again. 

"  I  suppose  you  are  through  for  to-day,"  she 
called  after  him. 

"  I  think  I'll  harrow,"  he  said,  "  then  I  am  done 
with  it." 

"  But  the  poor  beast — do  you  want  to  drive 
Blackie  to  death?" 

"  Don't  worry  about  that,"  he  said,  and  went 
toward  the  barn,  whistling. 

Soon  he  drove  the  tired  animal  to  the  field  in  the 
twilight  and  began  to  harrow. 

A  half  moon  appeared  over  the  mountain  ridge  in 
the  north.  From  the  direction  of  Hermstad  bay, 
which  was  still  covered  with  ice,  came  the  song  of 
the  grouse.  But  what  had  got  into  the  head  of 
Hans  that  made  him  want  to  work  so  late  at  night? 

A  stranger  with  a  pack  on  his  back  came  to  the 
house  and  asked  for  Hans.  Martha  directed  him 
to  the  field,  where  Hans  could  be  heard  but  could  no 
longer  be  seen. 

Finally,  it  became  so  dark  that  she  had  to  light  a 
lamp.  Then  she  went  out  to  call  him,  and  said 
that  if  he  had  any  sense  left  he  would  not  make  the 
poor  beast  work  any  more  to-day. 

Just  then  Hans  came  in  with  the  harness  over  his 
shoulder,  and  whistled  louder  than  before. 

"  Where  is  Blackie?  "  she  asked. 


32  God  and  Woman 

"  Blackie  is  all  right,"  he  said.  "  The  stranger 
bought  her." 

"  Have  you  sold  the  horse,  now  in  the  midst  of 
the  spring  work?  " 

"  I  suppose  I  can  buy  another,"  he  said.  "  And 
now  I  am  through  with  the  harrowing." 

"  And  Blackie  did  not  get  her  oats,"  she  mused. 

"  I  understand  there  is  a  horse  over  in  the  Vassby 
district,"  he  said,  "  and  the  person  who  wants  it 
must  lose  no  time."  He  brushed  by  her  and  went 
into  the  house. 

"  You  are  surely  not  thinking  of  going  anywhere 
to-night?  " 

"  There's  money  to  be  made,  Martha.  Get  me  a 
clean  shirt." 

"  Money  to  be  made,  yes,"  she  said,  scornfully, 
bringing  out  the  shirt,  "  and  brandy  to  be  had." 

Hans  grinned.     "  Yes,  of  course,  brandy !  " 

She  sat  and  stared  at  him  while  he  changed  his 
clothes.  Perhaps  she  should  have  made  ready  a 
basket  of  food  for  his  journey ;  but  she  had  not  the 
energy.  Perhaps  she  should  have  begged  him  also 
not  to  start  out  until  morning ;  but  she  only  pressed 
her  lips  together.  When  these  fits  came  over  him, 
his  eyes  looked  as  if  he  were  a  hundred  miles  away. 
She  might  as  well  try  to  catch  a  salmon  with  her 
hands  as  to  try  to  keep  him  at  home. 

"  Are  you  cold?  "  he  asked,  as  he  buttoned  his 
coat  and  made  ready  to  leave. 

"  Cold?  " 

"  Yes,  because  your  chair  is  shaking  so." 


God  and  Woman  33 

"  Is  that  likely?  "  she  said  with  a  nervous  laugh. 
"  Good  luck  on  your  journey !  " 

Hans  went  out  into  the  night. 

She  did  not  look  after  him,  but  remained  seated 
and  listened  to  the  steps  that  grew  fainter  and 
fainter. 

She  turned  out  the  light,  intending  to  go  to  bed ; 
but  went  to  the  window  and  remained  standing 
there  for  some  time.  Down  in  the  lowlands  there 
was  grass  and  flowers,  but  up  here  in  the  hills  there 
was  still  frost  at  night,  and  the  half  moon  seemed 
to  amuse  itself  by  ploughing  through  the  cold,  grey 
clouds. 

What  is  troubling  you,  Martha — are  you  having 
a  bad  time  of  it?  She  dried  her  eyes,  then  sud- 
denly clenched  her  fists  and  stamped  on  the  floor. 
She  was  certainly  not  having  a  good  time.  A 
brook  murmured  and  trickled  alone  out  there  in  the 
darkness,  and  she,  herself,  became  so  lonely  at 
night!  But  why  should  her  tears  flow?  Away 
with  tears! 

She  turned  around  and  stared  into  the  dark  room. 
If  you  were  to  go  to  the  minister  now,  Martha,  he 
would  offer  you  plenty  of  kind  advice;  and  to- 
morrow his  wife  would  tell  half  the  neighbourhood, 
and  especially  the  forester  at  Myr. 

And  the  minister  would  say  that  you  should  pray 
the  good  Lord  for  grace  and  help — then  some  way 
would  be  found  with  Hans.  But  there  it  is  again — 
that  way  you  should  be  able  to  find  for  yourself. 

No  doubt  there  are  some  of  us  upon  whom  the 


S 


34  God  and  Woman 

x 

great  powers  above  place  burdens,  heavier  upon  one 

than   another.     If  it  turns  out  badly  this  time, 

loubtless  it  will  turn  out  worse  the  next.     Then 

>erhaps  you  will  become  tender  and  begin  to  pity 

r ourself  and  pray  for  help?    Well,  I  suppose  some 

'would  do  that.     But  others  of  us  clench  the  teeth  in 

defiance.     And  if  it  becomes  constantly  worse  and 

•  worse,  there  is  at  least  one  way  out — a  rope,  and  a 

beam  in  the  barn  to  tie  it  to.     But  your  brothers, 

and  the  new  lady  at  Myr !     They  can  find  enough  to 

grin  about,  anyway,  so  I  think  we'll  wait  awhile. 

Yes,  we'll  wait  awhile  for  that. 

There  was  nothing  to  do  but  to  remain  alone  at 
the  lonely  farm.  Hans  did  not  come  the  next  day. 
She  refused  to  go  to  the  window  and  look  down  the 
path,  but  she  could  not  help  stopping  the  spinning- 
wheel  from  time  to  time  to  listen  for  his  steps. 

The  most  pleasant  part  of  the  day  was  when  her 
duties  called  her  to  the  cow-stable. 

As  soon  as  she  opened  the  door  she  was  impressed 
by  the  calm  repose  of  the  peaceful  animals.  The 
sheep  and  the  cows  would  give  their  welcome;  the 
pig  would  raise  his  head  and  grunt.  They  have 
been  waiting  for  her.  From  her  hand  they  receive 
what  they  need  for  the  support  of  life,  and  in  re- 
turn a  blessing  seems  to  remain  in  her  hand  when 
she  has  finished  and  everything  has  been  set  in 
order.  When  she  sits  aiid  milks,  it  seems  so  good 
to  rest  her  forehead  against  the  warm  cow  as  the 
milk  plays  a  tune  of  tip-tap  on  the  bottom  of  the 
pail.  It  is  almost  like  placing  your  cheek  close  to  a 


God  and  Woman  35 

little  child.  Eest  and  repose  spread  through  the 
body.  Meanwhile,  there  is  a  satisfied  chewing 
throughout  the  barn,  and  now  and  then,  it  is  as  if 
a  pig  or  a  lamb  began  to  speak  and  ask  her  about 
this  and  that — exactly  as  when  a  child  toddles 
along  behind  its  mother. 

Here  the  lonely  farm  becomes  a  peaceful  home. 
As  she  feels  the  warm  cow  against  her  forehead  she 
closes  her  eyes  and  dreams  that  perhaps,  some  day, 
it  might  become  just  as  peaceful  in  the  cottage. 
She  knew  where  the  cradle  would  stand.  And  it 
would  not  be  very  long  before  the  little  new-comer 
could  say  "  mother." 

Then  there  would  be  one  more — several  more — 
boys  and  little  rosy-cheeked  girls.  Perhaps  these 
would  be  the  best  reins  on  Hans.  It  ought  to  be 
possible  to  work  and  put  aside  a  little  in  the  next 
few  years,  so  there  would  be  something  to  spend  on 
a  couple  of  the  oldest  boys  to  help  them  get  up  in 
the  world,  at  least  as  high  as  the  forester  at  Myr. 

There — now  she  is  through  for  the  day.  As  she 
closes  the  barn  door  she  actually  has  a  desire  to  bid 
good-night  to  everything  and  everyone  in  there,  for, 
in  there,  she  feels  like  another  human  being. 

The  sad  part  of  it  was  that  she  had  now  been 
married  two  years  and  still  there  was  no  sign  of  a 
little  one.  And  she  had  put  aside  several  yards  of 
very  fine  cloth,  ready  to  cut  into  little  dresses  and 
bandages. 

Two  days  passed  and  Hans  did  not  come.  The 
third  day  she  could  do  nothing  but  stand  at  the 


36  God  and  Woman 

window.  The  fourth  day,  towards  evening,  she 
could  contain  herself  no  longer.  She  put  on  her 
wraps  and  walked  down  the  path  which  wound 
desolately  between  the  mountains  and  over  bogs. 

She  had  gone  some  distance  when  she  stopped 
and  listened  in  the  bluish  spring  darkness.  She 
heard  only  the  song  of  the  grouse  and  the  murmur 
of  the  brooks.  She  dared  not  turn  around.  There 
was  a  catch  in  her  throat.  Wearily  she  wandered 
on.  She  came  to  the  last  hill,  from  which  the  open 
country  could  be  seen,  and  the  fjord  under  the 
mountains  to  the  west  twinkled  in  the  moonlight. 
Lights  from  farm  buildings  were  seen  here  and 
there.  She  saw  the  Ersland  farm,  the  parsonage, 
and  Myr.  But  she  dared  not  turn  around.  She 
went  farther.  Occasionally  she  would  meet  some- 
one, but  she  was  not  the  sort  of  person  who  would 
ask  if  they  had  seen  Hans.  Still  she  had  not  the 
courage  to  turn  around.  She  did  not  dare  to  go 
home  and  remain  alone  with  herself  and  the  night 
up  there  among  the  hills. 

At  last  she  reached  the  church,  and  there  she 
remained  standing.  One  ought  not  to  stay  too  long 
near  a  churchyard  so  late  at  night,  but  this  time 
it  could  not  possibly  be  worse  than  at  home.  She 
took  hold  of  the  iron  gate  to  see  if  it  was  locked. 
It  opened,  creaking  from  rust.  She  clenched  her 
teeth  and  went  inside.  Soon  she  found  herself  near 
her  mother's  grave,  above  which  there  stood  a  small 
black  wooden  cross.  She  sat  down,  folded  her 


God  and  Woman  37 

hands  over  her  knees,  and  rocked  forwards  and 
backwards. 

"  Mother,  I  am  so  unhappy,  I  should  like  to  move 
down  here  to  you.  Can  you  tell  me  who  will  help 
a  poor  lonely  woman  that  no  one  in  the  world  cares 
about?  " 

The  weather  vane  on  the  church  spire  creaked  as 
it  was  turned  by  the  wind.  She  started  and  looked 
around.  It  was  as  if  this  city  of  the  dead — these 
homes  which  were  only  mounds  of  earth,  each  with 
its  cross — these  people  who  lay  there  with  their 
eyes  closed — it  was  as  if  she  could  see  and  feel  how 
it  would  be  when,  some  day,  she  should  lie  there  and 
listen  to  one  thing  and  another — to  a  hymn,  per- 
haps, without  melody  and  without  words,  but  a 
hymn  nevertheless,  which  would  sound  throughout 
the  ages,  and  which  exists  only  for  the  dead. 

Toward  midnight  she  wandered  back  over  the 
deserted  path  and  finally  reached  the  lonely  farm. 

The  next  day  Hans  came  riding  into  the  barn- 
yard upon  a  large  bay  horse.  He  dismounted,  led 
the  horse  to  the  door,  and  shouted : 

"  Martha,  come  out !  " 

She  stepped  to  the  window  so  that  he  might  see 
that  she  was  there,  but  she  did  not  go  out. 

While  standing  at  the  window  she  caught  a 
glimpse  of  his  face.  His  eyes  were  red  and  pro- 
truding. 

Hans  put  the  horse  in  the  stable  and  approached 
the  house,  but  remained  standing  outside  the  door. 
He,  who  the  last  day  or  two  had  begun  to  long  for 


38  God  and  Woman 

home,  now  found  it  hard  to  enter.  When  finally  he 
had  brought  himself  to  open  the  door,  he  saw 
Martha  sitting  at  the  spinning-wheel.  She  did  not 
look  up.  Upon  the  table  there  was  no  food. 

"  You  may  be  sure  there  is  going  to  be  a  fine  horse 
on  the  farm  now,"  said  Hans,  trying  to  be  merry; 
but  the  spinning-wheel  continued  to  spin  and 
Martha  did  not  look  up. 

When  he  had  changed  his  clothes  in  the  little  bed- 
room he  entered  the  living-room  again,  and  said : 

"  Is  there  anything  to  eat  in  the  house?  " 

Martha  was  pale.  She  cleared  her  throat,  but 
continued  to  spin,  and  did  not  look  up. 

"  Have  you  lost  your  tongue?  "  He  sat  down 
upon  a  bench  and  looked  at  her.  Still  she  did  not 
raise  her  eyes  toward  him.  Her  eyes  had  a  strange 
far-away  look,  as  if  she  were  altogether  alone  in  the 
room.  She  actually  began  to  croon.  He  waited  a 
moment.  He  felt  an  impulse  to  rear  up  and  pound 
the  table — to  give  her  a  beating  in  order  to  break 
her  obstinacy — or,  perhaps,  to  go  out  for  another 
drinking  bout.  However,  he  did  not  have  strength 
enough  left  for  that.  His  desire  for  drink  had 
spent  itself  for  this  time.  What  he  wanted  above 
all,  now,  was  to  be  on  good  terms  with  his  wife 
again. 

"  You  might  give  me  a  decent  welcome,  Martha," 
he  said,  "  because  whether  you  care  or  not,  I  have 
earned  a  pretty  penny  the  last  few  days ;  and  if  you 
want  the  money  to  put  in  the  bank,  why,  there  it 


God  and  Woman  39 

is."  He  took  out  a  leather  pocket-book  and  placed 
it  upon  the  table. 

Then  he  rose  to  his  feet,  went  out  and  hitched  up 
the  new  horse  to  the  wagon,  and  began  to  haul 
manure. 

At  noon  Martha  called  him.  This  time  there  was 
food  upon  the  table,  but  he  must  eat  alone.  She 
was  washing  and  scrubbing  in  the  kitchen.  Hans 
ate  and  talked,  but  not  a  word  nor  a  sound  did  he 
receive  in  reply. 

When  night  came  they  were  compelled  to  share 
the  only  bed  they  owned,  but  she  turned  her  face 
toward  the  wall,  and  she  seemed  to  go  to  sleep  im- 
mediately. 

He  lit  his  pipe,  and  smoked  and  thought  and 
remained  awake. 

It  is  a  fine  wife  you  have,  Hans,  and  it  is  to  be 
expected  that  she  should  be  high  and  mighty  and 
should  want  to  have  her  say  in  everything.  Well, 
well — it  is  her  turn  to  be  domineering  now,  and 
perhaps  it  might  do  you  good  to  be  under  the  lash 
for  a  time,  and  to  be  humble,  for  some  day  you  may 
want  to  get  out  and  shake  yourself  a  bit  again. 

He  puffed  out  a  thick  cloud  of  tobacco  smoke  and 
began  to  smile. 

Not  until  the  third  day  after  his  return  did 
Martha  speak  a  word  to  him.  It  was  while  they 
were  eating  their  noon-day  meal  together. 

"  Did  you  say  I  should  go  to  the  bank?  "  she 
asked,  in  a  low  tone. 

"  Yes,  there  is  fifty  dollars  in  the  pocket-book, 


4O  God  and  Woman 

there — if  you  care  to  take  the  trouble."  He  was 
bubbling  over  with  happiness,  because  now,  surely, 
the  ice  was  broken.  Toward  evening  she  went  out 
to  the  field  where  he  was  working  and  asked  if  there 
was  anything  she  could  do  to  help. 

"  Well,  now — I  wouldn't  have  you  work  in  the 
field,"  he  said.  "  But,  you  know,  it  does  make  the 
work  seem  lighter  to  have  you  near." 

Later  in  the  evening  he  followed  her  to  the  cow- 
stable.  He  was  wonderfully  attentive  in  every  way, 
and  even  cleaned  the  stable  for  her. 

He  took  particular  delight  in  saying  things  that 
would  make  her  laugh,  but  he  knew  also  when  to 
hold  his  tongue. 

Sunday  turned  out  warm  and  bright.  Far  below 
the  ridge  of  hills,  which  shut  off  the  view,  was  heard 
the  sound  of  church  bells.  To-day  Hans  and 
Martha  walked  together  over  field  and  meadow  and 
chatted  about  the  spring  work  that  had  been  done, 
and  that  which  remained  to  be  done.  She  thought 
it  was  so  important — this  matter  of  crops.  And 
didn't  she  look  wonderful  in  her  blue  Sunday  dress 
with  the  red  bodice!  Hans  must  put  his  arm 
around  her  time  and  again.  She  said  he  was  silly 
and  pushed  him  away,  and  said  he  must  remember 
they  had  neighbours,  and  the  neighbours  had  a  win- 
dow in  their  house,  too.  Hans  was  so  supremely 
happy  to  have  such  a  wife,  that  if  he  had  never 
before  sworn  to  let  liquor  alone  he  did  so  now. 

"  Are  you  going  to  the  fair  this  year?  "  she  asked, 
and  turned  her  face  away. 


God  and  Woman  41 

Aha,  he  thought,  something  new  is  brewing. 

He  answered  in  the  most  ingratiating  manner, 
after  stroking  his  beard  out  of  his  mouth. 

"  If  you  could  arrange  to  go  also  and  help,  why, 
of  course,  we  might  be  able  to  make  a  shilling  or 
two." 

"  Hem,"  she  said,  and  remained  silent  for  a  long 
time. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  IV 

SEVERAL  years  passed.  They  worked  and  struggled 
together.  They  were  friends  and  enemies,  and  each 
in  turn  had  the  upper  hand.  She  got  him  to  break 
new  land  and  helped  him,  herself,  to  clear  away 
stumps  and  stones.  She  urged  him  also  to  take  in 
a  newspaper,  so  that  his  thoughts  might  be  occu- 
pied with  something  else  than  merely  buying  and 
selling.  Everything  went  well  for  a  time — until 
his  fit  came  over  him  again,  when  he  dropped  every- 
thing and  found  an  excuse  to  go  away. 

In  a  way,  it  was  a  comfort  to  Martha  to  learn 
that,  though  Hans  would  drink  a  great  deal,  it  was 
preferably  when  others  paid.  He  would  trade  and 
trade  again,  yet  always  he  would  come  out  ahead. 
It  was  only  honour  and  reputation  that  he  contin- 
ually threw  overboard.  That  folks  said  he  was 
good  for  nothing  only  made  him  smile.  He  could 
not  understand  why  Martha  should  be  vexed  over 
such  a  trifle. 

When  she  was  left  alone  up  here  on  the  farm 
among  the  hills,  while  he  was  away,  busy  with  his 
own  affairs,  she  would  go  about  waiting  and  wait- 
ing, not  any  longer  for  him,  but  for  the  little  one  in 
the  cradle,  who  never  came.  Now  it  was  even  of 
less  use  to  stand  at  the  window  and  stare. 

,42 


God  and  Woman  43 

She  must  swallow  many  bitter  things  and  pre- 
tend she  enjoyed  it.  More  than  once  at  the  fair  she 
must  stand  aside  and  see  Hans  taken  to  jail  while 
the  folks  from  home  followed  at  a  distance  and 
jeered.  It  pained  her,  but  no  one  would  think  so, 
judging  from  her  actions.  It  was  worse — this  mat- 
ter of  the  child  that  did  not  come.  It  did  not  help 
to  hold  the  head  high  and  be  strong.  It  was  as  if 
the  most  tender  spot  in  her  whole  being  were 
touched.  She  could  only  bow  her  head  humbly  and 
pray  for  help. 

As  time  passed  she  managed  to  go  to  church  more 
often.  She  saw  her  brothers  enter,  and  felt  that 
they  sat  in  a  pew  near-by.  She  felt  also  that  the 
forester  from  Myr  and  his  beautiful  wife  came  in 
and  sat  down  just  across  the  aisle.  But  Martha 
bowed  her  head  and  looked  in  the  hymn-book. 
These  people  became  as  nothing  beside  the  great 
thing  that  held  sway  over  her  mind. 

The  congregation  began  to  sing,  and  she  sang  also. 
It  was  the  first  time  she  had  had  anything  to  put 
into  a  hymn,  and  therefore  it  became  a  new  experi- 
ence to  sing.  The  church  became  filled  with  an  un- 
earthly harmony.  The  entire  congregation  sang. 
Bald-headed  men,  blond,  red-haired,  dark,  held 
their  heads  back  and  sang.  Women,  bowing  their 
heads  under  their  kerchiefs,  some  black,  others 
bright  coloured,  sang  still  louder.  All  the  people 
changed  into  hymns.  Martha,  herself,  felt  as  if 
she  rose  in  the  air  to  a  plane  where  her  wishes  were 
given  wings.  They  took  flight.  They  lifted  them- 


44  God  and  Woman 

selves  up  into  infinite  space.  They  saw  Him  for 
whom  she  sang.  "  What  do  you  want,  woman?  " 

Martha  sang  the  words  of  the  hymn,  but  at  the 
same  time  it  seemed  that  her  wishes  up  above  sang 
their  own  song. 

"  Oh,  Lord,  I  am  a  wife  who  has  not  yet  had  her 
first  child.  Am  I  unworthy?  Try  me  then.  Am  I 
too  hard  and  wicked?  If  so  I  will  change,  when  I 
have  a  cradle  to  croon  over.  Punish  me  with  sick- 
ness. Make  me  penniless  and  poor.  I  can  bear 
more  than  that,  if  You  will  only  give  me  a  little 
child  to  carry  on  my  arm.  Do  You  hear?  Do  You 
hear,  You  that  are  over  all?  " 

The  hymn  still  sounded,  and  Martha  forgot  all 
around  her.  She  had  sung  herself  up  to  the  throne 
in  the  grand  room,  and  about  her  was  a  great 
throng  of  other  women.  They  knelt,  just  as  she. 
They  wore  black  kerchiefs,  just  as  she.  But  the 
others  were  mothers.  They  had  children  in  the 
cradle,  or  at  their  breasts,  or  on  their  arm,  at  work 
or  at  play.  They  were  here  to  pray  that  their  chil- 
dren might  prosper.  Now,  there  was  a  new  hymn. 
Now,  words  and  wishes  took  wing.  There  was  a 
chorus  in  which  even  the  stars  were  lured  to  join. 
It  was  the  song  of  the  mothers. 

Martha  must  stand  aside.  She  had  no  one  to 
pray  for. 

Thus,  in  thought,  she  would  be  carried  far  away. 
It  happened  at  times  she  would  come  to  herself 
again  only  when  the  people  would  brush  by  her 


God  and  Woman  45 

while  leaving  the  church  because  the  service  was  at 
an  end. 

A  person  who  lives  so  much  alone  on  a  lonely 
farm  up  among  the  hills  can  easily  think  and  brood 
over  one  thing  until  it  finally  becomes  alive. 

If  she  had  had  a  child  a  reasonable  time  after  the 
wedding  it  would  now  be  four  years  old.  It  was 
this  child  Martha  began  to  see.  It  was  a  little  boy. 
He  was  named  Peter  after  her  father.  He  toddled 
after  his  mother,  in  and  out  of  the  house,  and  asked 
questions  about  such  things  as  children  usually 
ask  about.  In  the  evening  he  would  carry  the  milk 
pail  for  her  to  the  barn,  and  while  she  sat  resting 
her  head  against  the  warm  cow  and  milked,  he 
would  stand  beside  her  and  chatter. 

When  Hans  came  home  she  would  stare  at  him 
with  a  strange,  far-away  look.  It  was  as  if  this 
man  belonged  to  another  world  than  she. 

The  years  passed  by.  It  seemed  to  Hans  his  wife 
had  changed  so  much  that  often  he  did  not  recog- 
nise her. 

One  day  he  came  driving  home  to  the  farm  and 
called  from  some  distance : 

"  Martha,  Martha,  are  you  there?  " 

"  What  is  it?  "  She  came  to  the  door  to  see  if 
he  had  been  drinking. 

"Are  you  ready  to  move?"  he  said,  jumping 
down  and  tying  the  lines  together. 

"  Move?  "  she  said. 

"  Yes,  now  there  will  be  something  else  to  do  than 


46  God  and  Woman 

to  sit  here,  Martha  mine.  Now  you  are  to  be  the 
lady  of  Dyrendal." 

"  Are  you  out  of  your  wits?  Dyr — endal !  " 
She  took  hold  of  the  door  to  steady  herself. 

"  Yes,  the  big  place  north  of  here.  Now  it  is 
mine.  The  biggest  estate  in  the  district — timber,' 
six  tenants — it  is  all  mine  now." 

When  he  finally  went  in,  the  house  became  full  of 
excitement.  He  paced  up  and  down  the  floor,  and 
tried  to  light  his  pipe  while  telling  Martha  about 
the  auction.  There  was  no  doubt  about  it — to  buy 
the  place  at  the  price  he  had  paid  was  highway  rob- 
bery. There  was  a  salmon  fishery.  'And  the  tim- 
ber alone  was  worth  more  than  he  had  paid. 

Hans  Lia,  so  to  speak,  had  set  his  net  for  a  big 
haul  again,  and  had  put  all  that  they  owned  at 
stake.  Of  course,  it  was  not  impossible  the  whole 
thing  would  go  to  sea,  as  had  happened  before,  and 
he  would  stand  there  a  pauper  in  the  morning. 
Martha  would  not  throw  her  hat  in  the  air.  What 
if  things  should  go  wrong!  Martha  could  not 
sleep. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  V 

THEY  moved  one  day  early  in  the  spring.  Their 
belongings  did  not  make  a  very  large  load.  There 
was  the  table,  the  bed,  some  benches,  a  few  kettles 
and  cups,  and  a  couple  of  bundles  of  clothes.  There 
was  also  a  large  box  in  which  something  clattered 
about  and  said  "  uff !  uff: ! "  Back  of  the  wagon 
there  were  three  cows  and  four  sheep,  which  Hans 
tried  to  keep  together  with  a  small  birch  branch. 
On  the  load  sat  Martha,  driving. 

It  was  not  a  moving  which  would  tend  to  create 
profound  respect  for  the  new  owners  of  Dyrendal. 

The  road  led  over  high  forest-clad  ridges.  At  last 
they  were  on  the  down  slope  and  saw  the  plain  far 
below  them  dotted  with  groups  of  farm  buildings. 
First  there  was  a  string  of  fishermen's  cottages 
along  the  shore  of  the  wide  fjord,  which  looked 
almost  as  if  they  had  been  washed  up  by  a  wave. 
Back  of  these  the  dark  church  tower  rose  out  of  a 
clump  of  fir-trees.  The  plain  widening  out  toward 
the  east  was  thickly  settled,  with  here  and  there 
ridges  of  hills  and  strips  of  forest.  But  those  who 
were  moving  knew  there  was  more.  Valleys,  many 
miles  long,  extended  between  the  greyish-brown 
mountain  ridges  toward  the  north-east,  with  rivers 

47 


48  God  and  Woman 

and  large  estates  and  dairy  farms  from  which  the 
ram's-horn  sounded  in  the  summer-time. 

This  was  their  destination.  Martha  thought: 
"We  move  in  to-day,  but  God  alone  knows  if  we 
don't  have  to  pack  up  and  move  out  with  shame  and 
sorrow  to-morrow." 

At  last  they  could  see  Dyrendal  on  the  plain  be- 
low. It  lay  on  an  elevated  bit  of  ground  among  the 
birch-covered  hills  toward  the  east,  and  it  domi- 
nated both  land  and  sea.  The  house  was  painted 
yellow,  and  paraded  a  long  row  of  white-framed 
windows  on  the  side  facing  the  west.  The  rafters 
extended  far  over  the  walls.  It  was  truly  a  gentle- 
man's house.  Before  the  house  were  shade  trees, 
and,  behind  it,  were  large  red  barns  and  stables 
resting  upon  high,  white-painted  foundations. 

"  Well,  well — and  you  are  to  be  the  mistress  here 
now,  after  the  great  lady,"  thought  Martha ;  but  she 
shook  her  head.  She  mused — Hans  had  played 
many  a  mad  prank;  but  this,  no  doubt,  was  the 
worst. 

"Why — there  is  smoke  coming  from  the  chim- 
ney ! "  she  burst  out.  Had  not  Hans  told  her  the 
house  was  vacant? 

"  Well,  I  declare,  have  you  ever  seen  the  like !  " 
Hans  looked  puzzled,  and  stared  in  the  direction  of 
the  house. 

They  passed  several  farms.  The  folks  stood  out- 
side and  gazed  at  them.  All  eyes  took  measure  of 
the  load,  as  if  to  say :  "  Great  Heavens !  Is  this 
the  new  master  of  Dyrendal ! " 


God  and  Woman  49 

Martha  raised  her  chin,  and  only  cast  side 
glances :  "  Good  Lord,  what  does  it  concern  these 
people,  anyway?  We  are  what  we  are." 

When  they  had  crossed  the  river  and  entered  the 
grounds  of  Dyrendal,  Martha  jumped  down  off  the 
wagon,  took  a  handful  of  earth  and  rubbed  it  be- 
tween her  fingers.  "  Clay,"  she  said,  and  looked 
thoughtfully  at  Hans. 

Leading  up  to  the  house  was  an  avenue  of  tall 
asp-trees.  Martha  sat  upon  the  load  and  looked 
up  at  the  budding  crowns. 

"  These  are  fine  trees,"  she  said. 

"  Yes,  we  can  make  good  use  of  them ! "  said 
Hans.  "  They  will  make  several  armfuls  of 
wood." 

"  Wood !  "  she  said. 

"  Yes ;  lumber,  too.  If  we  saw  them  up  there 
will  be  many  good  planks." 

"  I  guess  we'll  wait  awhile,"  said  Martha. 

Hans  could  see  at  once  that  this  was  a  subject 
Martha  understood  better  than  he,  and  the  matter 
was  never  referred  to  again. 

This  was  a  great  day  for  Hans.  Since  the  pur- 
chase of  Dyrendal,  Martha's  poor  brain  had  been 
in  a  whirl,  and,  to-day,  worse  than  ever  before.  It 
was  as  if  he  held  her  over  a  fire  and  let  her  kick  and 
struggle.  It  is  true  enough  that  she  always  was 
right,  and  was  twelve  times  as  good  as  he,  but  for 
all  that  he  might  have  the  fun  of  holding  her  over 
the  fire  a  bit  and  letting  her  kick. 

First,  there  were  the  two  maids  he  had  engaged 


50  God  and  Woman 

without  even  telling  her  about  it.  They  had  pre- 
pared cream  porridge,  and  set  the  table.  Martha 
stared  in  wonderment — where  did  the  table-cloth 
come  from,  and  the  spoons,  and  all  the  kitchen 
ware?  All  that  Hans  had  bought  at  the  auction. 
But  why  should  he  tell  her  all  at  once?  It  was 
even  worse  when  she  wanted  to  help  put  the  cows  in 
the  cow-stable.  There  stood  fifteen  cows,  and  the 
maids  said  Hans  had  bought  them  together  with  the 
farm.  And  to  think  that  she  had  dreaded  to  begin 
on  a  big  farm  without  help  and  without  live  stock ! 
She  heard  a  neigh  in  the  horse-stable,  and  when 
she  went  in,  there  stood  six  horses  stamping  in 
their  stalls,  besides  the  one  they  had  driven. 

"  Who  owns  these?  "  she  asked. 

"  They  belong  to  us,"  said  Hans. 

"  Belong  to  us?     Listen,  Hans;  be  serious." 

"  They  belong  to  us  as  sure  as  I  stand  here." 

She  stared  at  him,  shook  her  head,  and  went  out. 
She  did  not  believe  him.  But  if  it  were  so,  after  all, 
then  he  must  have  gone  in  debt  over  his  ears,  and 
all  this  splendour  hung  as  if  by  a  thread. 

Then  she  followed  him  to  the  wagon-shed.  There 
stood  farm  wagons,  sleds,  a  sulky,  a  cart,  and— 
could  she  believe  her  eyes — nearest  the  wall,  a 
Surrey. 

"  Who  owns  that?  "  she  asked,  and  pointed  in  the 
direction  of  the  Surrey. 

"  Hem !  "  Hans  stroked  his  beard.  "  I  suppose 
most  everything  you  find  here  is  mine."  He  chewed 
his  tobacco  cud  vigorously,  while  his  eyes  twinkled. 


God  and  Woman  51 

He  would  not  have  exchanged  this  moment,  no,  not 
for  a  horse  or  a  cow. 

"  Have  you — have  you  bought  the  Surrey  for  us, 
Hans?"  She  was  pale,  and  her  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  him. 

"  Yes.  Don't  you  think  the  master  and  mistress 
of  Dyrendal  should  ride  to  church  as  befits  their 
station?" 

She  stared  at  him,  and  leaned  against  the  wall  to 
save  herself  from  falling. 

"  I  fear  the  first  ride  will  be  to  the  poorhouse," 
she  said.  "  And  if  I  did  not  know  it  before,  I  see  it 
now — you  are  stark  mad." 

She  shook  her  head,  and  walked  slowly  toward 
the  house. 

When  he  came  in  he  found  her  sitting  upon  a 
chair.  She  pondered  long,  wiped  her  eyes,  and 
sobbed.  Suddenly  she  burst  out  weeping,  and 
groaned  loudly : 

"  To-day  I  regret  one  thing,  Hans." 

"  Is  that  so?    You  regret  one  thing?  " 

"  Yes — that  like  a  fool  I  should  have  married  a 
man  who  is  out  of  his  wits." 

"  That  was  too  bad,  Martha,"  said  Hans,  filling 
his  pipe. 

"  We  owe  for  every  nail  in  the  wall  here,  and  you 
go  and  buy — buy  a  Surrey." 

"  Well,  you  see,  Martha— 

"  And  we  must  pay  out  thousands  of  dollars  be- 
fore midsummer,  and  next  autumn  we  must  pay  out 
thousands  again.  And  here  we  are  to-day,  and  have 


52  God  and  Woman 

thrown  our  last  few  shillings  out  of  the  window. 
But  you — you  buy — a  Surrey !  " 

"  Well,  that  was  foolish,  I  must  say." 

"  Be  sensible,  and  listen  to  me,  Hans.  Sell 
immediately.  Try  to  save  the  little  we  did  have. 
And  let  us  move  away  from  here  this  minute." 

"  Oh,  well — I  suppose  we  can  stay  here  over- 
night," said  Hans,  striking  a  match  and  lighting 
his  pipe. 

It  seemed  to  Hans  that  he  had  roasted  Martha 
over  the  fire  long  enough,  so  he  began  to  tell  her 
many  things  he  had  not  told  her  before. 

To  be  sure,  there  was  some  risk,  taken  altogether 
— there  was  no  denying  that.  But  no  one  knew 
that  before  the  auction  he  had  been  through  the 
woods  with  a  forester  from  the  lumber-yard  in  the 
city.  And  the  woods — most  of  the  woods — were 
practically  sold  to  the  lumber  company  for  more 
than  enough  to  cover  both  the  first  and  second  pay- 
ment, so  she  could  feel  perfectly  safe  for  at  least 
a  couple  of  nights.  Of  course,  there  was  also  quite 
a  large  mortgage;  but  the  salmon  fishery  could  be 
rented  for  almost  enough  to  take  care  of  that.  And 
if  he  should  want  to  sell  the  two  largest  tenancies, 
they  would  bring  a  neat  sum — yes,  more  than  half 
enough  to  pay  off  the  entire  mortgage.  Could  she 
understand  that?  And  did  it  seem  to  her  now 
that  he  was  altogether  out  of  his  wits? 

And  the  farm  was  bought  as  it  stood,  wTith  fix- 
tures and  tools.  The  fifteen  cows  and  six  horses 
were  thrown  in.  And  wagons  and  sleds  and  har- 


God  and  Woman  53 

nesses  and  everything.  All  went  with  the  farm. 
The  Surrey — well,  of  course,  that  was  separate. 
The  bailiff  had  put  up  the  Surrey  for  sale;  but 
there  wasn't  a  man  in  the  district  who  wanted  to 
bid  on  anything  so  stylish  as  a  Surrey.  Brandt  of 
Lindegaard  and  the  doctor  and  the  minister  were 
not  there,  and,  no  doubt,  they  had  carriages  enough 
already.  No  one  would  make  a  bid,  so  the  bailiff 
thought  the  best  he  could  do  would  be  to  throw  in 
the  Surrey  with  the  rest.  "  Do  you  understand 
now,  Martha?  It  did  not  cost  me  a  shilling." 

Furthermore,  it  was  not  absolutely  necessary 
that  she  should  ride  in  it  to-day  or  to-morrow.  It 
did  not  eat  anything,  and  might  as  well  stand  there. 
When  the  day  should  come  that  they  had  paid  up 
everything  and  had  a  shilling  in  the  bank,  they 
might  perhaps  take  a  ride  in  it. 

Martha  remained  seated,  and  continued  to  stare 
vacantly.  She  turned  her  eyes  toward  Hans.  If 
she  could  only  believe  all  this!  This  madcap, 
looked  upon  by  everyone  as  a  drunkard  and  a 
brawler  and  a  scoundrel,  would  he  be  man  enough 
to  see  this  thing  through? 

At  any  rate,  it  sounded  sufficiently  trustworthy, 
so  that  she  rose  from  her  chair,  and  looked  around 
as  if  she  had  made  up  her  mind  to  stay.  After  all, 
there  was  perhaps  so  much  truth  in  it  that  it  was 
worth  the  trouble  to  brace  up  and  take  hold. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VI 

IT  is  true  enough — the  first  few  weeks  neither  Hans 
nor  Martha  slept  well.  It  was  so  sudden — all  this 
coming  to  them.  And  they  were  not  quite  safe  in 
sthe  saddle  either.  So  many  things  might  happen. 
[t  is  one  thing  to  have  good  prospects,  and  another 
to  have  the  money  on  the  table.  It  was  almost  as 
if  the  large  yellow  house  did  not  have  a  firm  foun- 
dation. At  night,  when  they  had  gone  to  bed,  it 
was  as  if  the  whole  thing  might  begin  to  slide  down 
hill  as  soon  as  they  closed  their  eyes. 

Two  maids  and  two  hired  men — it  cost  money. 
And  now  Martha  had  eighteen  milch  cows.  In  time, 
large,  white-scrubbed  tubs  of  yellow  butter  accumu- 
lated in  the  milk-house,  and  upon  the  shelves,  long 
rows  of  cheese.  Martha  wanted  to  take  these  to  the 
village  herself. 

It  was  not  until  half  of  the  money  for  the  timber 
had  come,  and  the  first  payment  on  the  farm  had 
been  made,  that  they  had  enough  of  a  feeling  of 
security  to  pause  and  look  around. 

The  first  thing  they  discovered  was  that  they  had 
moved  into  a  strange  house.  Here  had  lived  other 
folk  with  other  minds,  and  something  of  them  con- 
tinued to  haunt  the  house.  The  wall-paper  bore 
the  marks  of  picture-hooks.  But  wall-paper  for 

54 


God  and  Woman  55 

simple  country  people — that  was  not  suitable. 
There  were  large,  grand  rooms,  but  they  were  rooms 
for  gentle  folk.  Many  remained  empty.  One  room 
was  furnished  with  the  bed  and  table  and  benches 
they  brought  with  them.  The  windows  were  tall 
and  solemn,  accustomed  to  curtains — but  did 
Martha  have  curtains  to  hang  up?  Some  of  the 
window-panes  bore  the  marks  of  merry  officers' 
parties — names  and  verses  scratched  with  dia- 
monds. There  was  Van  Kaltenborn,  Elieson, 
Seierstad.  Something  strange  always  appeared 
and  poked  fun  at  the  simple  folk  who  had  come  to 
the  house.  As  for  the  window-panes — of  course, 
they  might  be  changed  some  day. 

It  was  worse  with  the  large  garden.  Now,  in 
May,  the  apple-trees  and  the  cherry-trees  began 
to  take  on  a  splendour  of  white  and  pink  flowers; 
but  such  gardens  were  only  for  the  great  people  in 
these  parts.  Martha  had  seen  a  garden  like  that  at 
the  parsonage — but  did  she  and  Hans  have  time  to 
walk  about  on  the  paths,  and  drink  tea  in  the  shady 
bowers,  and  talk  refined  talk?  Hans  preferred  to 
steal  around  outside  the  garden.  He  knew  very 
well  that  the  former  master  of  Dyrendal  and  his 
ladies  no  longer  wandered  about  on  the  paths  in 
there,  but  nevertheless  he  felt  a  sort  of  respect,  and 
his  hand  instinctively  went  up  to  his  hat  in  the 
presence  of  his  own  garden.  If  only  there  had  been 
time  to  look  after  all  these  bushes  and  trees.  They 
must  wait  awhile,  at  least,  with  all  these  flowers 
until  the  place  was  paid  for,  and  they  had  a  shilling 


56  God  and  Woman 

in  the  bank.  No  doubt  people  who  passed  by  would 
stop  and  smile. 

There  was  one  thing,  however,  at  Dyrendal  that 
simple  country  folk  had  no  need  of  denying  them- 
selves, and  that  was  the  view.  The  farm  lay  on  a 
high  bit  of  ground,  and  overlooked  a  little  kingdom 
of  its  own.  The  landscape  lay  spread  out  on  the 
plain  below — bogs,  strips  of  forest,  and  farms  with 
green  fields  traversed  by  avenues  of  trees,  fences, 
and  paths.  It  began  at  the  great  fjord  below  the 
snow-capped  mountains  in  the  west  and  continued 
with  a  bay  which  extended  east  below  other  moun- 
tains in  the  north.  The  bay  narrowed  into  a  long 
sound  with  farms  on  both  sides  staring  at  one 
another,  and  the  sound  ended  in  a  lake  which  ex- 
tended to  the  very  grounds  of  Dyrendal.  Into  this 
lake  would  come  salmon  and  herring.  In  the 
winter- time  it  would  freeze,  and  be  covered  with 
smooth  ice.  But  now,  during  the  warm  spring  days, 
the  dark  surface  was  like  a  mirror.  In  it  one  could 
see  yellow  and  red  houses  stand  on  their  heads  be- 
tween the  green  banks  and  quiet  tree-covered  hills. 
In  the  bottom  was  the  bright  sun  and  the  blue  sky. 

As  Hans  stood  near  the  flag-pole  looking  upon 
all  this,  the  picture  became  so  large  that  it  was 
difficult  to  take  it  all  in.  It  was  no  longer  merely 
the  fjord,  where  messengers  from  distant  parts 
came  and  went  under  white  and  weather-beaten 
sails.  There  were  so  many  roads  with  traffic. 
There  were  teams  and  travellers  afoot  on  both  sides 
of  the  sound.  There  were  moving  objects  in  the 


God  and  Woman  57 

long,  tree-lined  avenues  leading  to  the  church. 
There  was  life  and  movement  on  the  shores  of  the 
lake  and,  toward  the  west,  on  the  shores  of  the  great 
fjord.  Perhaps  some  of  these  travellers  were  on 
their  way  to  Dyrendal  to  see  him.  Something  was 
happening  constantly.  It  was  as  if  a  large  and 
curious  book  lay  open  before  him,  in  which  there 
was  much  to  read  and  much  to  marvel  at.  All  of 
the  sounds  from  the  plain  below  were  washed  up 
here.  A  steamer  on  the  bay  whistled ;  a  horse  be- 
yond the  sound  neighed;  a  plank  fell  on  a  farm 
far  beyond  the  church;  shouts  and  laughter  were 
heard.  It  was  as  if  all  the  life  of  the  parish  rose 
into  the  air  and  was  wafted  toward  Dyrendal.  It 
was  noticeable  that  one  was  nearer  the  ocean;  the 
air  was  more  moist  and  had  a  salty  taste;  the 
western  mountains,  with  their  snow-covered  tops, 
were  often  shrouded  by  a  veil  of  mist ;  and,  toward 
evening,  the  sky  over  the  island-studded  fjord  was 
a  paradise  of  multicoloured  clouds.  Over  the  whole 
breathed  the  spirit  of  spring.  The  odour  of  burst- 
ing buds,  of  herring  from  the  beach,  and  flowers 
from  the  hills,  was  something  so  strong  that  it 
caused  the  nostrils  to  quiver  and  the  soul  to  burst 
into  song. 

Furthermore,  at  this  season  of  the  year,  the 
salmon  fishing  was  full  of  adventure,  which  filled 
every  hour  of  the  day  with  excitement.  North  of 
the  house,  the  grounds  sloped  abruptly  to  the  shore 
of  the  lake,  and  ended  in  a  point  of  land  upon  which 
all  sorts  of  sea  birds  foregathered. 


58  God  and  Woman 

From  the  outermost  end  of  the  point  a  fishing- 
net  was  stretched  out  into  the  lake,  and  a  rope 
attached  to  the  farther  end  of  the  net  went  straight 
to  the  shore.  It  disappeared  in  the  door  of  a  drab 
cottage  on  the  bank,  and  here  sat  John  Ro,  an  old 
greybeard,  and  held  the  other  end  with  an  expres- 
sion as  if  each  moment  he  expected  something 
important  to  happen.  The  net  formed  a  triangle 
with  the  shore  line.  Just  beyond  the  net  a  ladder 
rose  from  the  lake,  and  on  top  of  this  stood  Peter 
Eriksen  in  his  yellow  oilskin  coat  and  southwester, 
and  looked  straight  down  as  if  he  had  lost  some- 
thing down  there  on  the  bottom.  It  might  happen 
on  rare  occasions  that  his  comrade  in  the  cottage 
would  say  a  word  to  him.  Peter  would  answer, 
but  would  never  raise  his  eyes,  because  down  there 
on  the  bottom  were  things  of  greater  importance. 
He  is  on  the  look-out  for  a  lightning-like  shadow, 
preferably  many.  A  white  surface,  many  times  as 
large  as  the  floor  of  a  cottage,  has  been  placed  on 
the  bottom,  so  that  everything  that  moves  in  the 
water  above  it  can  be  easily  seen.  Peter  stands  on 
his  ladder  all  day  long.  His  father  before  him  had 
stood  in  the  same  way  and  had  died  stone  blind. 
Now  Peter  is  a  greybeard.  His  broad  back  is  round, 
but  his  eyesight  is  still  very  good.  The  time  passes, 
and  he  looks  and  looks.  It  becomes  roasting  hot 
in  the  middle  of  the  day,  and  it  would  seem  that  he 
would  be  more  comfortable  without  his  oilskins, 
but  if  the  very  crack  of  doom  should  sound,  he 
would  remain  there  motionless.  If,  for  a  single 


God  and  Woman  59 

moment,  he  should  take  away  his  eyes  from  the 
white  surface  down  there,  a  salmon  might  slip  out 
again,  and  heaps  of  silver  money  would  go  with 
him. 

John  Ko  sits  in  the  cottage,  and  is  just  as  intent 
upon  his  special  task.  He,  like  Peter,  is  a  cottager 
under  Dyrendal.  In  his  youth  he  was  a  guardsman, 
and  stood  watch  at  the  King's  palace,  despite  his 
small  stature.  He  can  light  his  pipe  with  one  hand 
and  cook  coffee  with  the  same  hand,  while  with  the 
other  he  has  a  strong  grip  on  the  rope.  When  the 
salmon  comes  the  devil  is  loose — then  he  must  be 
quick  as  lightning,  and  haul  in  until  he  gets  the  far 
end  of  the  net  ashore.  It  happened  once  that  he 
had  tied  the  rope  to  a  tree  on  the  hillside  just  out- 
side the  cottage.  His  wife  came  out  to  him  with 
food — it  happened  to  be  about  the  time  she  was  to 
have  a  little  one.  Just  at  that  moment  Peter 
Eriksen  shouted  "  Haul  in !  "  John  became  excited, 
and  rushed  to  the  rope.  In  doing  so,  he  ran  afoul 
of  his  wife.  She  rolled  down  the  bank  into  the  lake, 
and  since  that  day  has  been  like  another  person. 
Now  John  keeps  the  rope  in  the  cottage,  and  never 
drops  it  for  a  moment, 

As  Peter  Eriksen  stands  on  the  ladder,  and  the 
sun  beats  down  upon  him,  it  happens  sometimes 
that  his  thoughts  are  far  away.  It  is  the  salmon  he 
follows  on  his  lightning-like  journeys  all  over  the 
wide  world.  Last  winter  he  shot  through  the  great 
ocean  and  along  coasts  so  far  away  that  one  can 
hardly  form  an  idea  of  the  distance.  Then  spring 


60  God  and  Woman 

came  into  the  sea,  and  he  began  to  long  for  the 
north.  He  remembers  the  deep  and  quiet  fjords, 
perhaps,  also,  the  fresh  waters  of  some  playful 
river  where  he  crept  out  of  the  egg  and  then 
frolicked  as  a  shining  little  salmon-trout  until  the 
longing  for  the  sea  came  over  him.  Now,  however, 
he  has  turned  northward  again  toward  home,  and 
dashes  like  a  shooting-star  through  the  sea.  He 
makes  wild  rushes  into  fjord  and  sound,  and  passes 
by  familiar  cliff  walls  and  headlands.  He  disports 
himself  in  a  cool  river  formed  by  mountain  streams ; 
but  it  is  not  the  right  one.  There  is  an  idea  in  his 
head  about  a  waterfall,  where  one  can  leap  and 
wriggle  in  the  sunshine  and  foam,  and  he  remem- 
bers, farther  up,  a  .certain  fly  which  he  has  now 
invited  a  playfellow  to  enjoy  with  him.  Peter 
waits  expectantly.  He  is  almost  moved  and  ready 
to  say  that  such  an  acquaintance  is  welcome  home 
again.  Now  the  home-coming  salmon  rushes  into 
the  sound  and  along  the  east  shore.  He  is  approach- 
ing. Watch  carefully!  There  is  a  shadow  down 
there  in  the  green  water.  But  it  is  only  a  haddock 
or  a  cod,  or,  perhaps,  only  a  crab.  That  is  not 
worth  bothering  with.  The  day  passes.  It  requires 
a  great  deal  of  patience.  John  Ro  changes  places 
with  him.  A  new  day  passes,  and  both  stare  until 
their  eyes  are  red;  but  nothing  happens. 

Then  Peter  must  take  up  his  watch  on  the  ladder 
again.  He  rubs  his  eyes  with  his  pitch-covered 
hand.  The  bottom  down  there  is  white.  The  water 
is  light  green,  and  the  sun  plays  upon  the  golden- 


God  and  Woman  61 

green  ripples  of  the  surface.  The  wavelets  splash 
against  the  ladder.  Shouts  and  laughter  sound 
from  the  shore;  but  Peter  does  not  look  up  from 
one  end  of  the  day  to  the  other.  He  stands  there 
keeping  watch  until  every  muscle  of  his  body  aches 
and  the  old  eyes  smart.  There  is  nothing  to  do  but 
watch.  Suddenly  a  chill  runs  through  him.  Then 
a  fire  burns  in  his  entire  body.  He  gets  a  glimpse 
of  a  grey  streak  shooting  through  the  water  like  a 
flash  of  lightning.  It  must  be — ah!  there  is  one 
more!  Then  a  great  mysterious  foreboding  comes 
over  him.  He  feels  like  singing  hosanna  or  repeat- 
ing the  Lord's  prayer ;  but  all  his  emotion  gathered 
into  one  wild  shout : 

"Haul  in!" 

"  Haul  in !  "  shrieks  John  Ko,  and  now  the  devil 
is  loose.  The  little  cottage  seems  in  danger  of 
toppling  over  as  a  result  of  the  commotion  inside. 
The  rope  becomes  alive.  The  net  bends  toward  the 
shore.  Peter  climbs  down  from  his  look-out,  stiff 
in  every  joint,  and  steps  into  the  boat  which  is 
tied  to  the  ladder.  The  net  must  be  emptied.  When 
the  fish  are  gathered  upon  the  beach  there  are 
heaps  of  shining  objects — heaps  of  silver  money — 
at  last!  But  Peter  Eriksen  and  John  Ro  are  en- 
titled to  only  their  share.  The  biggest  part  goes 
to  the  master  of  Dyrendal. 

At  this  time,  when  Hans  and  Martha  had  every- 
thing at  stake,  they  would  keep  the  window 
towards  the  water  open,  and  would  listen  to  the 
shout  of  the  fishermen.  It  was  like  a  lottery.  Each 


62  God  and  Woman 

time  the  shout  was  to  them  as  the  shout  of  rescue. 
Many  a  day  as  they  sat  at  dinner  and  the  welcome 
sound  "  Haul  in !  "  sang  through  the  house,  there 
would  immediately  be  new  life  in  both  of  them. 
Hans  would  rush  out,  and  run  down  the  hill  with 
his  mouth  full  of  food,  and,  at  first,  Martha  could 
not  control  herself,  but  would  follow  at  a  distance. 

Then  it  would  be  necessary  for  Hans  to  make  a 
trip  to  the  village,  because  he  wanted  to  sell  the 
salmon  himself. 

He  did  not  go  now  for  the  purpose  of  meeting 
wild  companions  and  of  exposing  himself  to  the 
temptation  of  drinking  and  fighting  as  formerly 
when  he  went  to  the  fair.  He  sold  the  precious 
fish,  and  got  his  pocket-book  full  of  bills  without 
so  much  as  cheating  even  a  Swede.  As  a  result  of 
this,  he  began  to  conduct  himself  differently  upon 
the  street,  and  to  look  upon  himself  as  belonging 
to  another  class  of  society  than  formerly. 

He  did  not  make  himself  ridiculous  by  imagining 
that  he  was  a  grand  seignior,  but  his  new  grey  suit 
of  homespun  had  been  pressed  at  the  dyers'  so  that 
the  nap  was  smooth  and  the  cloth  had  a  dark,  deep 
lustre.  And  he  did  not  put  on  a  tall  hat  that  would 
make  him  look  like  a  preacher;  but  a  new  one  of 
brown  plush  with  a  wide  brim.  However,  it  was 
comfortable,  especially  in  the  summer-time,  to  wear 
light  shoes  with  elastic  sides,  instead  of  the  heavy 
boots  that  reached  to  the  knees;  and  the  first  time 
he  tripped  across  the  street  the  soles  of  them  began 
to  creak,  so  that  the  big,  broad-shouldered  fellow 


God  and  Woman  63 

fell  into  a  new  manner  of  walking,  and  was  com- 
pelled to  look  around  to  see  if  folks  did  not  think 
his  clothes  were  too  fine. 

Naturally  he  must  visit  the  St.  Hans  midsummer 
fair,  and  this  time  he  brought  three  beautiful  horses 
from  his  own  farm.  He  did  not  live  in  a  dirty 
cattle-pen,  but  stopped  at  Findseths',  where  they 
had  sheets  on  the  bed  and  it  cost  twelve  shillings  a 
night.  He  might  take  a  drink  with  old  horse 
dealers  to  celebrate  a  sale,  but  he  would  not  put  the 
bottle  to  his  mouth  and  turn  it  bottom  side  up. 
He  remembered  that  when  he  went  home  he  would 
have  to  go  up  a  long  avenue  lined  with  trees,  and, 
although  he  was  not  a  Colonel,  he  was  the  master 
of  Dyrendal. 

In  the  autumn  money  came  again  from  the  lum- 
ber company,  and  they  made  the  second  payment  on 
the  farm.  There  was  only  the  mortgage  left.  If 
they  did  not  go  to  sleep  outright,  the  large  farm 
with  the  fishery  and  the  live  stock  surely  ought  to 
be  able  to  take  care  of  that. 

Both  Martha  and  Hans  now  felt  they  could  stop 
and  take  breath,  because,  at  last,  Dyrendal  seemed 
to  rest  upon  a  secure  foundation,  and  they  might 
allow  themselves  at  least  the  luxury  of  sleeping  at 
night. 

Each  time  Martha  had  been  to  town  she  brought 
home  something  done  up  in  a  neat  package  that 
Hans  was  not  permitted  to  see  until  it  pleased  her 
to  show  it  to  him.  One  day  she  brought  back  a  large 
clock  in  a  brown  case  that  reached  from  the  floor 


64  God  and  Woman 

to  the  ceiling.  Another  day  it  was  a  fine  damask 
table-cloth,  for  use  in  case  anyone  should  come  to 
see  them.  Another  day  again,  it  was  copper  and 
tinware,  bowls  and  cups  for  the  kitchen. 

"  How  much  did  you  pay  for  that?  "  Hans  asked. 

"  That  does  not  concern  you,"  she  replied,  not 
to  be  unkind,  but  because  she  had  got  it  into  her 
head  that  these  things,  she  and  the  butter  would 
take  care  of  without  any  aid  from  Hans. 

To  be  sure  Hans  still  had  some  authority  at  the 
farm.  Timber  was  sawed,  and  carpenters  came 
who  began  to  bustle  around  in  the  house. 

"What  does  that  mean?"  asked  Martha,  stand- 
ing erectly  with  her  arms  hanging  straight  down 
and  her  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"  That  does  not  concern  you,"  he  replied,  with  a 
grin,  strutting  about  and  acting  as  if  he  were 
hiding  great  secrets. 

The  carpenters  nailed  new  wainscoting  over  the 
old  wall-paper  in  the  living-room,  and  there  was  a 
pleasant  odour  of  fresh  lumber.  Immediately  it 
began  to  seem  cosy.  It  was  like  another  house. 
Martha  knew  that  when  Hans  assumed  control  it 
was  best  not  to  interfere.  When  the  wainscoting 
was  finished,  all  must  move  into  the  kitchen,  be- 
cause now  it  was  the  painters'  turn. 

Naturally,  it  became  rather  crowded  in  the 
kitchen  when  the  maids  and  hired  men,  besides  the 
master  and  mistress,  sat  at  table  there.  In  the 
days  of  the  former  master  of  Dyrendal  the  work- 
people ate  in  the  servants'  hall,  a  small  red  building 


God  and  Woman  65 

at  some  distance  from  the  house.  But  how  could 
Martha  and  Hans  find  any  pleasure  in  sitting  alone 
in  the  big  house?  That  was  out  of  the  question. 
They  wished  to  be  surrounded  by  their  people,  in- 
doors as  well  as  outdoors. 

When  the  carpenters  and  painters  had  left  and  a 
reasonable  time  had  been  allowed  for  the  fresh 
paint  to  dry,  Martha  one  day  opened  the  door  to 
the  living-room  and  invited  all  to  look  in.  The 
doorway  at  once  became  full  of  curious  heads. 
There  had  been,  indeed,  a  great  change.  The 
wainscoting  was  grey  with  brown  moulding. 
The  ceiling  was  white.  The  floor  was  brown  like 
the  moulding.  There  was  a  new  long  table 
along  the  wall,  and  new  benches,  including  a  short 
bench  up  near  the  window  which  served  as  the  seat 
of  honour.  All  these  were  brown  like  the  floor. 
Everything  was  in  grand  style.  It  was,  indeed,  a 
house  for  a  big- wig,  but  also  a  house  simple  country 
people  could  take  comfort  in.  And  Martha  said : 

"  I  think  the  long  table  will  be  large  enough  for 
all  of  us;  but  one  thing  I  want  to  have  clearly 
understood — anyone  who  does  not  take  his  shoes  off 
will  not  be  allowed  in  here.  He  will  have  to  sit 
in  the  kitchen." 

She  smiled  in  order  not  to  seem  too  harsh,  but 
they  all  knew  very  well  that  when  the  mistress  said 
anything  she  meant  it. 

The  winter,  with  its  snow-storms,  passed,  and 
when  spring  had  come  again  the  garden  began  to 


66  God  and  Woman 

run  riot,  worse  than  the  year  before,  with  flowers 
and  other  finery.  There  were  branches  so  burdened 
with  pomp  and  splendour  that  they  bent  down  over 
the  windows  in  order  to  look  in  and  show  them- 
selves. The  two  inside  bowed  as  if  to  say — "  Well, 
we'll  have  to  make  the  best  of  it."  To  be  sure,  the 
place  was  not  yet  paid  for,  and  they  had  no  money 
in  the  bank  to  speak  of;  but  they  were  there,  and 
they  were  just  who  they  were,  and  they  did  not 
need  to  ask  favours  of  anyone.  Hans  now  had  a 
rocking-chair,  in  which  he  sat  on  Sundays  in  the 
middle  of  the  floor,  rocking  gently  while  he  smoked 
his  long-stemmed  pipe  slowly.  He  used  sliced  plug 
tobacco,  which  made  the  smoke  strong  and  pleasant. 

As  Martha  went  about  her  household  duties  she 
began  to  notice  that  Hans  would  look  at  her  in  a 
questioning  manner.  They  had  been  married  ten 
or  twelve  years,  and  it  seemed  to  occur  to  Hans  for 
the  first  time  that  something  was  lacking.  Perhaps 
he  was  thinking  of  a  little  one  who  would  some 
day  crawl  upon  his  knee  and  say  papa.  Or  perhaps 
he  felt  so  secure  now  that  it  seemed  the  time  had 
come  to  think  of  an  heir. 

Martha  bowed  her  head,  and  dared  not  meet  his 
eyes.  She  had  a  strange  feeling  of  weakness.  If 
Hans  should  happen  to  make  any  reference  to  the 
matter  this  masterful  woman  would  sink  down  upon 
a  chair  and  begin  to  cry. 

There  was  a  good  catch  of  salmon  that  year.  But 
when  the  familiar  shout  "  Haul  in  "  rang  through 


God  and  Woman  67 

the  house,  Hans  and  Martha  did  not  rush  down 
to  the  water  as  formerly.  They  felt  too  secure  for 
that.  Instead,  they  merely  sent  someone  down  to 
get  the  news. 

Martha  thought  out  many  ways  of  occupying 
Hans  so  that  he  would  not  be  looking  constantly  at 
her  when  he  sat  in  the  rocking-chair.  She  per- 
suaded him  to  take  some  newspapers  again,  and 
urged  him  to  read  about  politics.  There  would  soon 
be  a  local  election.  Was  not  the  master  of  Dyrendal 
as  good  as  anybody  else?  Whenever  she  took  butter 
to  the  village  she  would  return,  as  formerly,  with 
many  wonderful  things  done  up  in  all  sorts  of  pack- 
ages. One  time  there  was  almost  a  wagon-load — 
among  other  things,  a  sofa.  It  was  for  the  other 
room.  It  seemed  she  had  begun  to  furnish  a  front 
room  in  the  large  house.  Another  time  she  was 
unusually  careful  with  her  package.  It  was  a  tall 
mirror  that  reached  almost  from  the  floor  to  the 
ceiling.  The  frame  was  of  mahogany,  to  match  the 
sofa.  She  had  been  advised  by  the  minister's  wife. 
Returning  from  one  of  the  trips  to  the  village  about 
Christmas-time,  she  walked  up  from  the  steamship 
wharf,  although  a  horse  and  sleigh  had  been  sent 
for  her.  She  had  come  straight  across  the  frozen 
lake,  and  walked  very  carefully,  carrying  something 
in  her  hand  which,  with  much  ceremony,  was  at 
last  brought  safely  into  the  house.  It  was  a  hang- 
ing-lamp for  the  front  room,  with  many  glass 
prisms. 

"  Well,   well — what  have  you  paid  for  that?  " 


68  God  and  Woman 


asked  Hans,  altogether  bewildered  by  the  many  fine 
things  Martha  had  brought  home. 

"  That  does  not  concern  you !  "  she  replied.  If 
she  and  the  butter  had  been  able  to  pay  for  so  much 
already,  she  thought  they  would  be  able  to  furnish 
the  front  room  too. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VII 

AN  old  white-haired  woman  accompanied  a  twelve- 
year-old  boy  up  the  road  leading  to  Dyrendal. 
They  came  from  the  fishing  village  on  the  shore  of 
the  fjord.  The  woman  had  a  curved  nose  and 
sunken  features.  She  was  tall  and  slender,  al- 
though she  seemed  to  be  well  along  in  years,  and 
walked  with  difficulty.  The  boy  carried  a  small 
bundle  of  clothes  under  his  arm.  The  hair  that 
showed  under  his  cap  was  blond — it  might  as  well 
be  called  white.  It  was  none  other  than  Knut 
Hamren,  who  was  on  his  way  to  Dyrendal  to  herd 
cattle,  and  the  woman  that  accompanied  him  was 
his  grandmother. 

It  is  not  so  easy  to  leave  home  when  one  is  twelve 
years  old,  even  if  one's  grandmother  accompanies 
one  part  of  the  way.  But,  of  course,  it  was  not  alto- 
gether pleasant  at  home  either,  because  mother  had 
died  last  year,  and  there  were  five  little  ones  in  the 
tiny  cottage.  And  this  year  father  had  married 
again,  and  a  strange  woman  had  taken  the  place 
of  mother.  It  was  lucky  grandmother  was  still 
alive  so  that  the  little  brothers  and  sisters  had 
someone  to  go  to  for  comfort.  When  Knut  was 
about  to  leave  home,  his  sister  Gunhild  took  him 
aside  and  asked  him  to  try  to  find  a  place  for  her 
also,  although  she  was  only  nine  years  old. 

69 


70  God  and  Woman 

"You  may  be  sure  some  way  will  be  found," 
he  had  said,  because,  being  the  oldest,  he  felt  he 
was  responsible  for  all  the  others. 

Knut  had  two  books  in  his  bundle.  One  was 
entitled  The  History  of  Napoleon  and  the  other  A. 
Happy  Marriage.  He  had  received  them  from  an 
old  tailor  in  exchange  for  a  string  of  fish.  After 
he  had  read  them  from  cover  to  cover,  his  thoughts 
began  to  wander  into  strange  paths. 

"  Now  I  think  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  turn 
around  and  go  home,"  said  the  grandmother,  and 
stopped. 

"  Oh,  no !  "  the  boy  begged,  for  he  dreaded  to  be 
left  alone. 

The  grandmother  looked  in  the  direction  of 
Dyrendal,  which  lay  there  among  the  hills  great 
and  powerful. 

"  Well,  now — if  you  will  only  try  to  behave  well, 
Knut " 

"  Oh,  I'll  try  to  do  the  best  I  can." 

"  You  must  remember  to  say  your  prayers  before 
you  go  to  bed." 

"  Yes,  of  course ;  but  can't  you  go  a  bit  farther?  " 

"  Then  you  must  remember  that  it  is  big  people 
you  are  going  to  work  for  now.  You  must  thank 
them  for  everything,  and  you  must  be  polite  and  do 
everything  you  are  asked  to  do." 

"  Come  with  me  a  little  farther,  then,"  he  begged. 
"  You  might  go  with  me  to  Dyrendal,  and  they  will 
invite  you  to  have  some  coffee." 

The  old  woman  put  her  hand  to  her  eyes  and 


God  and  Woman  71 

looked  back.  "  It  is  so  far  to  go  back,"  she  sighed. 
"  And  besides,  it  would  not  look  very  well — an  old 
cottager's  wife." 

The  boy  blinked.  For  the  first  time  it  occurred 
to  him  that  there  might  be  places  where  his  own 
grandmother  could  not  go  because  she  was  not  good 
enough. 

"  Then  you  must  not  talk  and  chatter  all  the 
time  as  you  do  at  home.  Kemember  that,  Knut." 

The  boy  promised  he  would  not  say  a  word  from 
one  end  of  the  day  to  the  other. 

The  old  woman  went  a  bit  farther;  then  she 
stopped  again. 

"  Well — good-bye  now,  Knut." 

"  Good— — "     The  boy  tried  to  swallow  his  tears. 

"  Come  now,  you  must  show  that  you  are  a  real 
man.  You  must  support  yourself  now,  Knut,  and 
then  help  the  others  who  are  smaller." 

"  Yes." 

The  grandmother  turned  around,  and  began  to 
walk  slowly  toward  the  fjord  again.  Knut  stood 
for  a  time  and  looked  after  her.  He  was  not  so 
certain  that  they  would  be  kind  to  her  at  home 
when  he  was  not  there  to  look  after  things. 

Then  the  little  fellow  trudged  on,  all  his  worldly 
possessions  pressed  tightly  under  his  arm. 

Knut  had  grown  up  out  there  beside  the  fjord, 
but  always  there  had  been  something  in  his  mind 
which  said  he  would  not  live  there  when  he  became 
a  man.  He  had  been  permitted  several  times  to 
accompany  his  father  into  the  country  and  up  into 


72  God  and  Woman 

the  valleys  where  there  were  great  fir  forests  with 
birds  and  animals  and  rivers  and  large  farms.  He 
had  often  thought — here  I  wish  to  live;  here  it  is 
pleasant.  Now  he  was  on  his  way  to  just  such  a 
large  farm ;  and  yet  he  sniffled  and  wiped  the  tears 
out  of  his  eyes. 

This  happened  on  a  Sunday  early  in  May,  and  in 
the  living-room  at  Dyrendal  Hans  lay  back  in  his 
rocking-chair  in  the  middle  of  the  room,  his  long- 
stemmed  pipe  in  his  mouth  and  a  newspaper  in 
his  hands.  The  mistress  sat  near  a  window  reading 
the  hymn-book,  and  one  of  the  maids,  Jonetta,  sat 
at  the  long  table  writing  a  letter. 

"  Here  comes  a  visitor,"  said  Martha,  looking  out 
of  the  window. 

"  Who  can  that  be?  "  Hans  looked  up  from  his 
newspaper  and  sat  erect.  The  fact  is,  Hans  was 
always  looking  for  something  to  happen.  Perhaps 
it  was  a  horse-dealer  who  happened  to  be  passing 
by.  Hans  immediately  became  wide  awake. 

"  Just  wait  a  minute,"  said  Martha,  smiling  and 
returning  to  her  hymn-book. 

There  were  steps  in  the  kitchen.  The  door 
opened,  and  a  little  fellow  dressed  in  light-grey 
clothes  and  a  cap,  with  a  bundle  under  his  arm, 
sidled  in.  He  jerked  off  his  cap,  bowed,  and  said, 
"  Good  afternoon."  As  this  did  not  seem  a  suf- 
ficiently cordial  greeting,  he  added,  although  this 
was  his  first  visit,  "  And  thanks  for  your  nospi- 
tality!" 

"Well,   good  afternoon,   good  afternoon,"  said 


God  and  Woman  73 

Hans,  looking  at  him  sharply,  while  his  eyes 
twinkled  with  good  humour :  "  I  believe  this  is  the 
new  overseer  who  is  out  walking." 

The  maid  raised  her  head.  Martha  looked  at  the 
boy  and  smiled.  Knut  put  one  foot  forward,  and 
assumed  the  sort  of  pose  grown  men  sometimes 
do  when  speculating  about  the  weather.  Oh,  no,  he 
would  not  say  exactly  that  he  was  an  overseer, 
he  said. 

No,  of  course  not ;  but  perhaps  he  was  the  bailiff, 
continued  Hans  with  a  very  serious  look. 

The  maid  began  to  grin.  The  boy  grew  red  in 
the  face.  He  placed  his  foot  farther  forward  in 
order  to  be  more  dignified. 

"  Well,"  he  said,  "  I  came  here  to  herd  the  cows 
this  summer,  and  whether  you  call  me  overseer 
or  herd-boy  it  is  all  the  same  to  me." 

"  Now  you  have  someone  who  knows  how  to 
answer  you,"  said  Martha.  She  arose,  and  extended 
her  hand  to  the  boy. 

"  You  are  welcome,"  she  said.  "  You  might  put 
down  your  bundle  for  a  while.  Perhaps  you  would 
like  something  to  eat?" 

"  No;  we  had  dinner  just  before  we  left." 

"  Anyway,  you  can  sit  down  for  a  while ! " 
Martha  went  back  to  her  hymn-book  and  her  chair 
at  the  window. 

Hans  continued  to  look  at  the  boy.  It  did  not 
happen  often  that  such  little  men  came  to  Dyrendal. 

"  Is  it  true  that  you  are  real  smart  in  school?  " 
he  asked.  "  I  believe  it  was  the  schoolmaster  who 


74  God  and  Woman 

said  that  you  intended  to  go  to  the  city  to  become  a 
preacher." 

Knut  had  promised  his  grandmother  that  he 
would  not  say  a  word  from  one  end  of  the  day  to 
the  other,  but  this  was  something  that  required  an 
answer. 

"  Oh,  no,  I  am  through  with  that,"  he  said,  and 
slid  up  on  the  bench.  As  he  sat  there,  his  feet  did 
not  quite  reach  the  floor. 

"  Is  that  so?  You  are  through  with  that?  But 
you  did  intend  to  do  that — a  few  years  ago?  "  Hans 
continued  in  a  very  serious  manner,  and  he  let  his 
pipe  go  out. 

"  Yes ;  you  see,  there  was  a  revival,  and  many 
people  were  converted  out  our  way  last  year;  but 
that  is  all  over  now." 

Martha  looked  up  from  her  hymn-book  again. 
The  maid  was  red  in  the  face,  and  bent  down  over 
her  letter;  but  there  was  something  in  her  back 
that  kept  bobbing  up  and  down. 

"  Perhaps  you  are  not  quite  saved  yourself, 
now?  "  asked  Hans. 

"  Oh,  no,  when  one  begins  to  think  about  these 
things,  why " 

Martha  must  look  out  of  the  window. 

"  But  what  do  you  intend  to  be  now,  when  you 
are  grown  up?  "  continued  Hans. 

"  An  officer." 

"  Well,  well,  well !  Perhaps  you  intend  to  enter 
the  school  for  non-commissioned  officers?  " 

"  Not  at  all,"  he  said.    "  Oh,  no,  you  cannot  be- 


God  and  Woman  75 

come  an  officer  that  way.  First  you  must  study, 
and  take  a  large  number  of  examinations.  Then 
you  must  go  to  the  army  school/' 

"  Yes,  exactly,"  Hans  gasped.  The  little  fellow 
talked  as  if  he  had  all  the  money  in  the  world  to 
spend  upon  himself. 

"  And  when  a  person  becomes  an  officer  he  must 
go  out  in  the  world — where  there  is  war." 

"  Exactly  so !  You  must  get  into  a  war,"  said 
Hans,  striking  a  match. 

"And  then,  perhaps,  you  will  be  made  a  general. 
And  then  you  can  be  with  the  King  all  day  long." 

"  Well,  I'll  be "  Hans  seemed  to  have  lost 

his  breath.  He  forgot  the  match  and  burned  his 
fingers.  "  But  have  you  never  thought  of  becoming 
a  king  too?  " 

Knut,  however,  was  so  taken  up  with  his  own 
future  prospects  that  he  looked  thoughtfully  at  the 
yellow  evening  sky  outside,  and  continued : 

"  Oh,  no,  that  cannot  be  done  in  these  times. 
That  was  when  Napoleon  lived.  Then  it  made  no 
difference  if  a  person  was  a  simple  cottager's  boy, 
if  only  he  had  the  stuff  in  him.  If  he  could  ride  a 
horse  and  use  a  sword  it  might  easily  happen  that 
he  would  rise  step  by  step  until  he  became  a  king." 

"  Well,  you  take  care,  or  you  will  go  the  same 
way,"  said  Hans,  and  struck  another  match. 
"  You'll  see,  you  will  not  give  up  until  you  are  a 
king  yourself  some  day." 

After  the  grown-ups  had  found  something  else  to 
talk  about,  Knut  slipped  out  and  began  to  look 


76  God  and  Woman 

around.  Such  a  large  farm !  And  all  these  build- 
ings! That  was  different  from  the  little  place 
down  there  beside  the  naked  sea,  with  a  house  and 
a  barn  about  as  large  as  two  match-boxes.  And  all 
these  big  and  little  buildings  were  alive.  The 
stabur  was  a  man  with  a  bag  on  his  back  straining 
his  legs  to  bear  up  under  it.  The  smithy  up  on 
the  hill-side  was  a  bad-tempered  old  woman.  The 
pigsty  back  of  the  granary  had  a  snout  and  could 
say  "  uff !  uff !  "  There  was  still  another  building, 
before  which  he  remained  standing  for  some  time. 
It  was  the  large  red  building  with  white  founda- 
tion. No  doubt  it  was  supposed  to  be  the  stable  for 
the  cows  and  horses,  but  in  reality  it  was  history 
that  lay  there  and  looked  into  the  future.  From 
the  stable  came  the  sound  of  horses  chewing  and 
stamping  on  the  floor.  Exactly  in  the  same  manner, 
no  doubt,  the  sound  of  chewing  and  stamping  once 
came  from  the  encampments  of  Napoleon  and 
Caesar. 

Hans  also  went  out  to  look  around.  When  he 
returned,  he  said  in  a  very  serious  tone  of  voice : 

"  Now  it  looks  as  if  we  had  a  man  on  the  place." 

"  How  is  that?  "  asked  Martha. 

"  Oh,  now  he  is  cleaning  the  stable." 

It  was  with  a  feeling  of  profound  reverence  that 
Knut  took  his  place  at  the  supper-table.  There 
were  before  him  only  grown-up  folks,  and  no  doubt 
the  food  in  such  a  grand  house  was  unusually 
strong,  so  that  a  person  should  partake  of  it  only 
with  the  greatest  caution.  At  the  head  of  the  table 


God  and  Woman 


sat  the  master  himself.  On  the  bench  along  the 
wall  sat  first  the  two  hired  men,  Kristian  Haug  and 
Lars  Hafella,  then  came  Knut.  On  the  opposite 
side  of  the  table  sat  first  the  mistress,  then  the  two 
maids,  Jonetta  and  Karen.  It  was  strangely  quiet. 
It  was  as  if  no  one  dared  to  speak  aloud.  Knut 
looked  up  to  Kristian  Haug  with  special  reverence, 
for  he  had  only  one  eye ;  the  other  he  had  lost  in  a 
fight  at  Lofoten.  He  was  a  dark-haired,  freckled 
rascal,  and  always  seemed  to  be  angry,  both  when 
he  ate  and  when  he  talked.  Lars  Hafella,  on  the 
other  hand,  was  a  good-natured,  light-haired  fox, 
who  drew  his  mouth  up  under  his  nose  and  always 
grinned  and  made  fun  of  the  whole  world. 

The  servants  slept  in  the  large  attic  above  the 
living-room.  When  night  came,  Knut  found  a  little 
bed  in  the  attic  just  inside  the  door.  There  was  a 
white  pillow-case,  and  the  fur  coverlet  had  a  red 
lining.  Everything  was  clean  and  inviting.  The 
bed  for  the  hired  men  was  on  one  side  of  the  room, 
and  the  bed  for  the  maids  on  the  other  side.  When 
Knut  had  gone  to  bed  and  closed  his  eyes,  all  the 
events  of  the  day  stood  before  him — grandmother, 

Dyrendal,  the  stable  all  the  folks  at  the  farm 

And  to-morrow,  perhaps,  he  would  drive  a  horse— 
Oh! 

"  Knut,"  said  Kristian  Haug,  "  I  wish  you  would 
find  out  what  that  racket  is  about  over  in  the  girls' 
bed." 

"  You  mind  your  own  business,"  said  Jonetta, 
and  pulled  the  covers  over  her  head. 


78  God  and  Woman 

It  became  quiet.  The  ticking  of  the  clock  down 
stairs  could  be  heard.  The  spring-night  darkness 
fell,  and  everything  in  the  attic  became  indistinct. 
It  was  the  first  night  Knut  had  slept  in  the  same 
room  with  a  grown-up  woman.  He  listened  to  the 
breathing  of  the  girls  and  the  creaking  of  the  bed 
as  they  moved.  His  head  was  also  full  of  the  book 
about  happy  marriage,  which  gave  examples  from 
universal  history.  There  was  David  and  Abigail. 
There  was  Luther  and  Katerina.  There  was  Eev. 
Kust  of  Helgeland,  who  continued  to  remain  a 
happy  married  man  although  his  wife  had  given 
birth  to  nineteen  children. 

When  Knut  became  a  man  himself  some  day 
— the  minister  from  Helgeland — Napoleon  at 
Jena Knut  slept. 

The  sun  streamed  in  through  the  window  the  next 
day,  and  the  others  had  long  since  gone  to  work; 
but  Knut  slept.  He  dreamed  of  his  mother.  It  was 
not  true  that  she  was  dead.  She  came  in,  having 
taken  off  her  shoes  in  order  not  to  wake  him  up. 
She  stood  beside  the  bed  and  looked  at  him,  her 
face  beaming  with  goodness.  Knut  thought  several 
times  he  had  opened  his  eyes. 

When  at  last  he  did  open  his  eyes,  it  was  because 
the  latch  of  the  attic  door  fell  with  a  light  click. 
Immediately  he  became  wide  awake ;  but  there  was 
no  one  in  the  room. 

"  Now,  then,  you  may  eat  your  breakfast/'  said 
Martha,  when  he  came  downstairs.  "  We  did  not 
wish  to  wake  you  the  first  day." 


God  and  Woman  79 

Outside,  load  after  load  of  manure  was  being 
hauled  out  into  the  fields  on  the  hill-side.  Knut 
began  his  first  work-day  at  Dyrendal.  He  was  given 
the  white  fjord  pony  to  drive.  It  was  small,  but 
quick.  The  master  helped  to  load  the  wagons,  and 
out  in  the  field  Kristian  Haug  spread  the  manure. 
He  also  helped  Knut  tip  up  the  wagon-box  and 
dump  the  load.  At  last  Knut  had  a  horse  to  man- 
age, and  himself  held  the  lines.  It  was  not  exactly 
like  the  cavalry  charge  at  Austerlitz;  but  when  he 
held  the  lines  tight,  Whitey  would  curve  her  neck 
and  look  quite  stately.  Hey ! 

It  was  a  warm  spring  day.  The  leaves  were  bud- 
ding. Kristian  Haug  looked  angrily  at  these  loads 
which  kept  coming  faster  and  faster.  He  took  off 
his  hat  and  vest,  unbuttoned  his  shirt  at  the  throat, 
and  scattered  the  manure  about  as  if  it  had  been 
caught  in  a  whirlwind.  The  sun  rose  and  vexed 
him  more  and  more.  At  last  he  tore  off  his  shirt 
also  and  hung  it  upon  the  limb  of  a  birch-tree. 
He  stood  there,  naked  from  the  waist  up,  and  raged, 
swinging  the  heavy  iron  pitchfork  wildly.  If  any- 
one tried  to  poke  fun  at  him  he  threatened  to  poke 
him  in  the  face  with  the  pitchfork. 

"  I  wish  Jonetta  could  see  you  now,"  said  Lars 
Hafella,  as  he  whisked  by  with  a  load. 

"  Shut  your  damned  mouth,"  snapped  the  other, 
and  worked  on. 

Martha  stood  at  the  window  watching  Knut,  who 
had  to  spread  his  feet  far  apart  in  order  to  stand 


8o  God  and  Woman 

upright  in  the  empty  wagon  each  time  he  returned 
from  the  field. 

This  morning,  while  he  was  still  sleeping,  she 
had  gone  up  and  stood  a  few  minutes  beside  his 
bed.  For  the  first  time  in  her  life  a  little  boy  had 
come  under  her  care.  She  had  looked  at  the  light 
hair  and  the  closed  eyelids.  She  had  felt  a  strong 
desire  to  bow  down  so  that  she  might  feel  his  breath 
against  her  cheek. 

Cottagers  have  sons  and  daughters,  but  others 
who  can  better  afford  it,  perhaps,  are  not  good 
enough. 

During  the  following  days  Hans  seemed  to  think 
of  nothing  but  this  boy.  He  called  him  the  King 
and  the  foreman.  He  made  the  others  smile,  but, 
the  next  moment,  he  would  take  the  boy's  part  and 
say  he  would  permit  no  one  to  annoy  Knut.  If  one 
of  the  hired  men  would  ask  which  horse  he  should 
use  that  day,  Hans  would  turn  to  Knut  and  ask, 
"  What  do  you  think  about  it?  "  If  he  had  any 
special  errands  he  would  always  take  the  boy  along 
with  him.  Martha  felt  all  this  as  a  reproach  at  her : 
"  Such  a  boy  you  should  have  brought  us ;  but  you 
are  not  woman  enough  for  that."  , 

The  daily  prattle  of  the  boy  in  the  house  reminded 
them  that,  however  much  they  might  toil  and  save, 
there  was  one  thing — the  most  important  of  all — 
they  would  never  in  the  world  be  able  to  have. 

About  this  time  Hans  backslid,  and  one  day  came 
home  drunk.  It  came  over  him  like  a  fit.  All  of 
this  prosperity,  this  security  against  the  morrow, 


God  and  Woman  8 1 

this  respect  in  which  he  was  held — he  could  hold 
on  no  longer.  He  saw  the  herring-net,  full  of 
wealth,  swept  out  to  sea,  and  he  stood  again  as  a 
pauper  and  swung  his  hat  in  the  air.  The  whole 
thing  was  inexplicable.  He  sat  in  the  gig  on  the 
way  home  from  the  steamship  wharf,  swung  a  bottle 
in  the  air,  and  sang.  The  folks  came  out  and  stared 
at  him.  His  reputation  went  gloriously  to  sea. 
Knut,  frightened  out  of  his  wits,  sat  at  his  side  and 
held  the  lines.  As  they  came  up  the  avenue,  the 
master  jumped  down  from  the  gig.  He  waded 
through  the  grass  over  the  hills  in  a  wide  circle. 

Martha  stood  at  the  window,  and  saw  the  boy 
was  alone  in  the  gig.  Immediately  she  understood 
the  reason.  She  had  a  strong  desire  to  roll  down 
the  curtains,  close  the  doors,  and  drive  everyone 
away.  When  evening  came,  Hans  had  not  yet 
appeared. 

It  was  late  at  night  when  Hans  came  in.  Martha 
was  up.  She  sat  at  the  window  sewing,  but  she 
did  not  raise  her  head. 

"  Ha,  ha — are  you  sitting  there,  Martha?  "  He 
stumbled  over  the  threshold.  "  Well,  I  am  glad  of 
that,  for  here  is  one  who  has  an  appetite.  Bring 
out  something  to  eat."  He  sat  down  heavily  upon 
a  bench,  grinned,  and  looked  at  her  with  his  red 
eyes. 

The  servants  who  slept  in  the  attic  directly  above 
the  living-room  heard  that  Hans  talked  and  that 
Martha  said  nothing.  They  heard  that  he  lost  his 
temper  because  she  refused  to  answer,  and  raised 


82  God  and  Woman 

his  voice,  and  finally  became  outright  insulting. 
He  seemed  to  want  everyone  to  hear. 

"  You  think  you  are  someone — you — and  you 
imagine  you  are  just  as  good  as  a  minister  or  an 
overseer !  But  you  are  not  woman  enough  to  have 
a  child  so  we  can  have  someone  to  comfort  us  when 
we  are  old  and  worn  out — eh!  The  right  thing 
would  be  to  drive  you  away  from  here  and  get  me 
another  wife.  Well — you  take  care ! — take  care !  " 

Nothing  further  happened.  They  knew  that  the 
mistress  sat  there,  but  not  a  sound  came  from  her. 
They  heard  Hans  stumble  across  the  floor,  and 
throw  himself  upon  the  bed. 

The  following  day  the  servants  saw  another  side 
of  Martha's  nature.  She  went  in  and  out,  and 
attended  to  her  household  duties ;  but  she  was  pale, 
and  did  not  say  a  word.  The  maids  asked  her  what 
there  was  to  be  done.  She  neither  saw  nor  heard 
them.  They  took  hold  of  the  work  as  well  as  they 
could,  but  dared  not  speak  to  one  another  except  in 
whispers. 

About  the  middle  of  the  forenoon  the  master 
appeared.  He  went  through  the  living-room  and 
into  the  milk-house,  where  he  drank  a  large  quan- 
tity of  sour  milk.  Then  he  called  Knut. 

"  It  will  be  well  to  have  the  foreman  along  when 
we  repair  the  fence,"  he  said,  and  fetched  an  axe. 
Knut  did  likewise,  and  followed  in  the  heels  of 
Hans  over  the  hills  and  toward  the  woods.  He 
stared  at  the  back  of  his  master's  trousers.  They 
were  pulled  up  a  trifle  too  high,  and  made  grimaces 


God  and  Woman  83 

like  a  funny  face.  The  big  man  had  let  his  beard 
grow  until  now  he  looked  like  an  ancient  viking. 
They  had  soon  reached  the  hills,  covered  with 
young,  light-green  trees.  From  there  they  followed 
the  fence.  Hans  knew  where  it  needed  mending. 
They  cut  down  alder-trees  and  birch-trees  for  rails. 
The  withes  with  which  the  fence-rails  were  tied  to- 
gether were  in  bud,  and  when  they  were  twisted  the 
sap  began  to  flow. 

"  The  fence  is  decorated  almost  as  if  for  a  wed- 
ding," said  Knut,  looking  upon  it  in  a  meditative 
mood. 

"  Do  you  think  so?  "  said  Hans,  and  smiled. 

Being  in  the  forest,  in  the  dense,  budding  forest, 
made  Knut  giddy.  The  ground  was  covered  with 
white  anemones.  The  blueberry  bushes  were  in 
bloom.  There  were  many  rowan-trees  from  which 
one  could  make  canes  and  carve  figures  in  the  bark. 
The  bird-cherry-trees  were  in  blossom,  and  the 
forest  was  full  of  fragrance.  A  hawk  soared  aloft 
under  the  blue  sky  and  looked  down.  All  sorts  of 
birds  must  have  had  their  nest  near-by;  for  they 
flew  and  chirped  and  sang  in  every  direction.  Hans 
chewed  tobacco.  Knut  chewed  alder-bark,  and  spit 
out  the  juice,  which  was  almost  the  colour  of 
tobacco.  They  chatted,  and  were  good  friends.  It 
was  so  easy  to  work  together. 

To-day  Knut  was  the  only  person  Hans  could 
bear  to  talk  to ;  for  in  his  heart  he  was  so  thoroughly 
ashamed  of  himself  that  he  did  not  know  what  to 
do.  Yesterday  he  had  wrecked  himself  so  com- 


84  God  and  Woman 

pletely  that  he  saw  no  way  of  setting  things  right 
again.  It  was  one  thing  to  see  a  herring-net  swept 
out  to  sea ;  but  Dyrendal  was  different,  and  yester- 
day he  had,  in  a  way,  put  the  whole  beautiful  farm 
at  stake.  He  felt  that  he  was  no  longer  the  right 
person  to  be  master  there.  Dyrendal  looked  at  him 
and  shamed  him.  He  felt  as  if  he  must  ask  humbly 
to  be  forgiven,  and  beg  leave  to  enter  the  house 
again.  Hans,  Hans — why  did  you  do  it? 

The  boy  chattered.  He  seemed  to  understand 
how  his  master  felt,  and  tried  to  comfort  him  by 
telling  tales  that  would  put  his  mind  at  ease.  Hans 
felt  an  impulse  to  take  the  boy  by  the  hand  and  ask 
if  there  was  a  better  boy  in  all  the  wide  world. 
Knut  told  about  the  battle  at  Svolder — about  a  bold 
man  who  loved  to  be  in  the  thick  of  the  fight  where 
spears  whizzed  by  and  battle-axes  flashed.  Ah,  this 
was  great!  Hans  forgot  the  work.  He  stood  and 
listened.  To  be  sure,  at  that  time  a  man  could 
break  loose.  There  Hans  would  have  loved  to  be. 
But  this  desire  for  the  wild  and  foolish  he  would 
have  to  take  by  the  throat  and  put  down. 

Then  the  boy  told  about  Moses,  who  was  some- 
what of  a  rogue  himself,  and  humbugged  all  the 
kings  in  Egypt.  Oh,  well,  if  Moses  wasn't  better, 
folks  could  not  expect  much  from  a  plain,  ordinary 
man  like  Hans  of  Lia.  It  was  a  good  thing  to  have 
a  boy  who  knew  so  much.  And  perhaps  the  day 
might  come  when  Hans  himself  would  require  to 
know  about  one  thing  and  another. 

When  the  dinner-bell  sounded,  Hans  brought  out 


God  and  Woman  85 

some  lunch  which  he  had  carried  in  his  coat  pocket. 
They  sat  down  in  a  bed  of  blue  anemones  and  ate. 
Then  they  went  to  a  brook,  and,  resting  on  hands 
and  knees,  drank  of  the  fresh,  running  water. 
When  Hans  lay  down  for  his  after-dinner  nap,  with 
his  coat  under  his  head  and  his  hat  over  his  eyes, 
Knut  sat  down  near-by  as  if  to  watch  so  that  noth- 
ing would  disturb  his  master.  Oh,  if  that  boy  had 
been  his  own ! 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VIII 

AT  Dyrendal  potatoes  were  being  planted  in  the 
level  fields  just  beyond  the  garden.  A  cold,  heavy 
rain  fell,  which  drenched  the  workers  and  made 
them  shiver.  They  talked  and  laughed  and  played 
many  a  merry  prank,  sometimes  stopping  to  wipe 
the  rain  out  of  their  faces  with  their  muddy  hands, 
only  to  make  matters  worse  by  leaving  black 
streaks.  The  brown  horses  seemed  to  be  more  lively 
than  ever.  They  steamed  from  the  moisture,  and 
rushed  along  with  the  plough  at  such  a  pace  that 
Hans  was  compelled  to  run  in  order  to  keep  up  with 
them.  Knut  and  one  of  the  maids  walked  back- 
wards in  the  furrow  carrying  a  basket  and  setting 
out  potatoes.  The  hired  men  covered  up  the  pota- 
toes in  the  furrow  and,  from  time  to  time,  threw 
a  handful  of  earth  at  one  of  the  girls,  or  dodged, 
unsuccessfully,  a  potato  from  the  sure  hand  of 
Knut.  From  its  nest  on  the  hill-side  a  curlew  rose 
into  the  air  shrieking  "  Huit !  huit !  huit !  " 

The  storm  in  the  house  had  subsided.  Martha 
had  begun  to  speak  again,  and  everyone  breathed 
more  freely.  Existence  became  more  tolerable. 

Hans  trotted  behind  the  plough,  and  now  and 
then  made  some  witty  remark :  "  Take  care  there, 
Knut,  for  if  I  run  you  down,  you  will  never  in  the 


God  and  Woman  87 

world  be  a  king."  At  the  same  time  he  was  carry- 
ing about  in  his  head  a  very  difficult  problem  which 
he  was  trying  his  best  to  solve.  It  was  about  folks' 
respect.  Of  course,  the  devil  did  it,  but  recently  he 
had  risen  so  high  that  folks  took  off  their  hats  to 
him,  almost  as  if  he  were  the  colonel  himself.  Then 
one  sidestep,  and  straight  down  into  the  mud  he 
went.  There  he  lay  now.  Then  there  was  the  ques- 
tion whether  there  was  any  way  of  getting  up  again. 
And,  furthermore,  what  it  would  cost.  The  respect 
of  other  people — that  is  something  you  have  not 
cared  much  about,  Hans,  but  now,  it  seems,  you 
cannot  live  without  it.  Martha  insists  upon  it. 
And  Dyrendal  demands  it,  in  a  way  of  its  own. 
There  is  something  strange  about  that  farm.  It 
has  a  power  over  you,  like  a  minister,  and  it 
preaches  and  warns  you,  and  says  this  you  shall  do 
and  that  you  shall  not  do.  If  you  go  up  the  tree- 
lined  roadway  leading  to  the  house  it  seems  almost 
like  going  into  a  church.  You  feel  that  you  ought 
to  put  on  your  Sunday  clothes,  and  not  only  out- 
wardly. It  seemed  as  if  the  mind  also  should  have 
its  pressed  homespun.  You  may  have  all  your  debts 
paid  some  day,  and  a  shilling  in  the  bank ;  but  that 
is  not  enough.  You  must  be  at  peace  with  yourself. 
And  Dyrendal  must  be  satisfied.  That  is  it — and 
that  is  the  difficult  thing  about  the  whole  matter 
—that  is  the  price  you  must  pay.  If  you  want  to  \ 
climb  up  again  to  a  place  of  respect  it  costs  some- 
thing. It  costs  more  than  it  did  before.  Then  there 


God  and  Woman 


is  the  question :  Do  you  want  to  pay  the  price? 

"  Come,  come — gee-up  there,  ponies !  " 

Martha  says  you  must  sign  the  pledge,  and  go  to 
prayer  meeting,  and  take  part  in  politics.    That  is 
a  great  deal  all  at  once.     You  cannot  get  back  1 
any  cheaper,  says  Martha.    Folks  must  see  you  are  V 
in  earnest,  she  says.     In  short,  you  must  make 
harbour.    Can  you  do  it?    Do  you  want  to  do  it?      I 

You  must  give  up  horse-trading.  It  is  not  becom-  ~* 
ing  for  an  honourable  man.  All  the  little  tricks 
and  deceits — no  more !  To  sort  of  toss  your  fellow- 
man  up  in  a  blanket — to  talk  him  into  believing 
that  a  worn-out  old  nag  is  a  prince  of  England — 
never  again !  A  thing  of  the  past !  It  has  been  like 
a  wedding,  and  a  hip  and  a  ho  in  the  whole  body. 
Now  the  wedding  is  over.  And  if  you  should  hap- 
pen to  feel  the  need  of  a  little  fire  in  the  blood,  or 
should  feel  like  lighting  St.  Hans'  midsummer  bon' 
fires  over  the  whole  world,  you  must  not  take  even 

half  a  glass "  Get  up  there,  ponies ;  what's  the 

matter  with  you ! "     He  swung  around,  put  the 
plough  in  the  ground,  and  drove  on. 

Then  there  is  politics!  You  must  go  to  all  the 
meetings  of  the  liberals,  I  suppose,  and  rant  about 
fatherland  and  freedom  and  progress.  Oh,  pshaw! 
No,  then  there  is  more  sense  in  the  conservatives, 
who  want  to  protect  the  King  and  society  and  the 
Word  of  God.  You  must  join  the  conservative 
party.  Then  the  prayer  meetings — huh!  Hans 
stopped  the  plough  with  a  jerk  in  order  to  catch  his 
breath  and  collect  his  thoughts. 


God  and  Woman  89 

The  earth  lay  under  a  thick  mist.  It  was  a 
gloomy  book  to  read  in  just  then.  Hans  saw  himself 
driving  about  the  country  with  an  evangelist.  And 
then,  no  doubt,  he  would  have  to  sit  and  sing  hymns 
and  look  penitent.  And  that  quack,  Jorgen 
Langmo,  who  travels  about  the  country  pricking 
cattle  under  the  tail  with  the  point  of  a  knife,  no 
matter  what  ails  them,  him  he  must  call  brother 
in  the  Lord.  Hans,  will  you  put  up  with  all  that? 
Does  Dyrendal  require  that? 

"  Helloa,  there  is  the  sun !  "  shouted  Knut,  and 
hit  Lars  Hafella,  who  was  shaking  his  half-frozen 
fingers,  in  the  back  with  a  potato. 

The  rain  had  become  a  light  drizzle,  and  above 
the  mountains  in  the  south  the  grey  clouds  were 
shot  through  with  sunshine.  Over  the  lake  thick 
clouds  surged  in  billows,  then  seemed  to  rise  and 
break  up.  Suddenly  the  cuckoo  began  to  sing.  The 
air  became  warmer.  The  horses  shook  themselves, 
and  started  off  again.  It  became  more  lively  in 
the  field. 

Soon  the  roofs  of  all  the  buildings  began  to  shine. 
A  starling  rushed  back  and  forth  over  the  level 
courtyard,  gathering  straw.  A  wagtail,  with  tail 
feathers  erect,  allowed  itself  to  be  carried  by  the 
wind  as  far  as  the  smithy,  but  came  back  immedi- 
ately, because  the  door  of  the  stabur  opened  and 
Martha  stepped  out,  carrying,  on  the  flat  of  her 
hand,  several  slices  of  bread.  She  turned  the  rusty 
key  in  the  lock,  and  remained  standing  for  a 
moment  on  the  step.  The  fjord,  the  mountains,  the 


90  God  and  Woman 

hills,  the  fields,  appeared  in  a  different  light  from 
what  they  had  when  she  went  in.  This  mixture 
of  sunshine  and  rain  seemed  to  fill  the  air  with 
life-giving  energy,  so  that  she  had  actually  to  stop 
for  a  moment  and  breathe  it  in.  The  figure  with 
the  ruddy  face  and  dark  hair  was  still  erect  and 
youthful,  but  had  become  more  filled  out,  and  the 
grey  dress,  with  black  apron  trimmed  in  red,  gave 
her  a  dignity  which  was  quite  becoming  to  the 
mistress  of  Dyrendal. 

As  she  walked  across  the  courtyard  she  began 
to  hum  a  tune  to  the  friendly  landscape.  When 
she  reached  the  kitchen  steps  she  felt  that  the 
small  birds  followed  her,  so  she  broke  off  a  bit 
of  bread,  crushed  it  in  her  hand,  and  scattered  the 
crumbs. 

Then  Martha  set  out  food  on  the  long  brown  table 
in  the  living-room.  She  thought  of  those  to  be  fed 
that  day.  She  carved  a  generous  piece  of  pork,  and 
placed  it  upon  a  slice  of  bread  for  each  person.  It 
was  not  merely  a  matter  of  treating  all  alike.  A 
little  motherly  attention  was  also  necessary ;  for  all 
did  not  need  exactly  the  same. 

The  sun  poured  in  in  such  a  friendly  manner, 
and  showed  how  freshly  painted  and  clean  every- 
thing was.  There  were  rag  carpets  on  the  floor, 
flowers  in  the  windows,  and  ivy  that  twined  itself 
back  and  forth  under  the  ceiling.  It  was  so  cosy 
now.  And,  as  she  went  about  humming  to  herself, 
it  seemed  again  as  if  there  were  some  strange  little 
visitors  present.  No  one  except  herself  even  sus- 


God  and  Woman  91 

pected  it.  They  were  her  children.  Often  they 
seemed  so  fearfully  alive  that  she  must  put  her 
hand  over  her  eyes  in  order  to  collect  herself.  There 
was  a  boy  and  a  girl.  The  boy  was  about  the  age 
of  Knut.  They  followed  her  about,  and  chattered, 
and  called  her  mother ;  but,  of  course,  it  would  not 
do  to  set  places  for  them  at  the  table,  because  they 
were  not  yet  born.  They  existed  only  in  her  mind. 

After  Knut  had  come,  and  Hans  had  said  those 
frightful  words  the  last  time  he  was  drunk,  she 
could  think  of  nothing  else  all  day  long.  Once  she 
went  to  church  and  sang  hymns  and  prayed  and 
begged  that  she  might  become  a  mother.  That 
would  be  her  comfort  and  reward  for  all  she  had 
sacrificed.  Now  she  prayed  no  more.  The  Lord 
had  punished  her  with  this  curse,  and  she  was  fully 
persuaded  He  did  her  a  grievous  wrong. 

Whenever  she  was  in  the  company  of  other 
women  who  had  children,  it  gave  her  pain — such 
dreadful  pain.  To  see  these  little  ones  crawl  upon 
their  mothers'  laps  and  throw  their  arms  about 
their  necks,  and  chatter  and  smile — oh,  she  could 
hate  them  all !  It  was  as  if  the  other  women's  hap- 
piness had  been  stolen  from  her.  She  knew  that  she 
also  would  have  been  a  good  mother.  She  knew 
that  much  that  was  now  frozen  in  her  heart  would 
have  been  thawed  out  and  made  soft.  But  she  was 
not  permitted.  She  was  not  permitted  to  be  good. 
It  seemed  almost  as  if  the  powers  above  had  tried 
to  assault  her,  and  she  had  a  desire  to  defend  her- 


92  God  and  Woman 

\    self — to  strike,  to  defy,  to  become  angry,  so  that 

others  might  see  what  she  must  suffer. 
/    A  woman  who  has  no  children  is  like  the  Day  of 
/  Judgment,  says  the  Bible.    They  would,  therefore, 
do  well  to  beware  of  her.    No  one  knew  what 
1   terrible  struggles  took  place  in  her  heart,  and  there 
\  was  no  one  in  whom  she  could  confide.    There  was 
nothing  for  her  to  do  but  keep  her  lips  tightly 
closed,  and  go  about  her  household  duties  as  if 
nothing  were  wrong. 

Shortly  afterward  she  walked  slowly  over  the 
courtyard  toward  the  stabur,  over  which,  in  its 
tower,  the  dinner-bell  hung.  She  grasped  the  bell- 
rope,  and  called  the  work-people  home.  It  rang  and 
rang — ding,  dong,  ding,  dong,  out  into  the  fresh 
sunny  day.  And  the  cuckoo,  the  rogue,  seemed  to 
answer  from  the  hill-side. 

When  the  work-people  came  from  the  field,  their 
feet  muddy,  they  went  the  kitchen  way  and  left 
their  shoes  outside  on  the  steps. 

It  was  on  the  afternoon  of  this  day  that  some- 
thing happened  which  placed  Hans  in  a  terrible 
state  of  excitement. 

He  stood  for  a  moment  behind  the  plough  to  let 
the  horses  rest,  and,  as  usual,  he  looked  around  to 
see  if  there  was  anything  of  note  to  read  in  the 
great  book  of  nature  open  before  him.  Someone  in 
a  cart  drove  up  toward  the  church.  A  dog  ran 
ahead.  It  was,  therefore,  the  doctor.  A  little 
nearer  on  the  road,  skirting  the  hills,  came  two 
wayfarers  afoot,  carrying  their  coats.  They  were, 


God  and  Woman  93 

no  doubt,  travellers  from  afar.  They  had  some 
important  errand.  Hans  became  interested.  What 
if  they  were  horse-dealers! 

However,  Hans  collected  himself.  Kemember, 
now,  what  you  have  promised  and  sworn  to-day. 
All  that  belongs  to  the  past.  There  will  be  no 
wedding  this  time,  if  you  are  a  man  who  can  live 
up  to  his  promises. 

The  two  strangers  came  nearer  and  nearer.  Hans 
began  to  feel  sick.  He  was  not  able  to  plough 
any  longer,  so  he  asked  Lars  Hafella  to  take  his 
place. 

He  left  his  boots  on  the  steps  outside  and  has- 
tened in. 

"  You  will  have  to  let  me  lie  down  on  the  bed 
awhile,"  he  said  to  Martha,  "  because  I  feel  sick/' 

"  Yes,  you  just  try  to  lie  down  with  those  dirty 
clothes  on,"  she  said.  Hans  slipped  his  suspenders 
over  his  shoulders,  and  kicked  oft'  his  trousers  in  a 
hurry.  The  next  moment  he  lay  on  the  bed,  and  had 
the  pillow  pulled  over  his  head. 

Martha  looked  out  of  the  window.  Aha,  it  was  as 
she  had  thought.  There  were  two  strangers  in  the 
field,  and  now  they  started  toward  the  house.  It 
was  not  the  first  time  Hans  had  become  so  agitated 
that  it  was  necessary  for  him  to  go  to  bed. 

The  master  of  Dyrendal  had  a  strong  desire  to 
fold  his  hands  and  pray  for  help  to  resist  the  temp- 
tation; for  the  truth  was  he  had  a  dark-coloured 
horse  with  bad  feet  which  he  would  like  very  much 
to  get  rid  of.  Lately  he  had  kept  the  horse  in  the 


94  God  and  Woman 


stable,  so  that  it  was  fat  and  lively.  No  one  would 
suspect  there  was  anything  the  matter  with  its  feet. 
Of  course,  to  sell  the  horse  would  be  deceit,  ha,  ha, 
ha — well!  But  deceit  and  all  kinds  of  cheating 
were  a  thing  of  the  past  as  sure  as  the  good  Lord 
would  extend  him  so  much  as  a  finger. 

Steps  were  heard  outside.  The  door  opened. 
Two  men  of  sedate  mien  stepped  in,  took  off  their 
hats,  and  said  good  day. 

"Won't  you  sit  down?"  asked  Martha,  who  sat 
at  the  fireside  with  her  knitting. 

The  strangers  looked  about  for  chairs,  and  said 
perhaps  they  would  sit  down. 

They  sat  down  cautiously  as  near  the  door  as 
possible,  placed  their  hats  on  their  knees  and 
looked  straight  into  space. 

"  Do  you  come  far?  "  Martha  asked. 

"  Oh,  I  wouldn't  say  we've  come  very  far,"  said 
one  of  the  men — a  tall,  bald-headed,  red-bearded 
fellow.  "  We  are  from  down  Vassby  way,"  he  con- 
tinued. 

11  From  out  on  the  headlands,"  informed  the  other 
— a  blond  fellow  with  genial,  white  eyebrows.  Then 
there  was  a  pause. 

"  This  is  fine  weather  for  planting,"  suggested 
Martha,  stealing  a  glance  at  Hans,  who  lay  on  the 
bed  with  his  back  turned,  moaning  feebly. 

"  Yes,  very  fine  weather,"  admitted  the  bald- 
headed  one,  clearing  his  throat  and  stroking  his 
head,  "  especially  for  one  who  has  everything  he 
needs  to  work  with." 


God  and  Woman  95 

Martha  looked  at  him  questioningly,  and  agreed 
that,  when  a  person  has  everything  he  needs  to  work 
with,  he  is  not  badly  off. 

"  You  see,  we  lost  our  horse  the  other  day,"  said 
the  blond  man,  looking  toward  the  bed,  "  and  my 
brother  here  came  with  me  to  see  if  there  was  any 
horse  to  be  had.  It  is  quite  an  expense,  but  I  sup- 
pose the  time  is  past  when  it  would  do  for  a  man 
to  hitch  his  wife  to  the  plough — ha,  ha,  ha !  " 

Martha  smiled,  and  agreed  that  perhaps  it  would 
not  do  for  a  man  to  plough  with  his  wife  in  our 
day. 

Hans  turned  suddenly  in  the  bed,  but  pulled  the 
pillow  over  his  head  again. 

Then  the  blond  man  went  straight  to  the  matter 
which  had  brought  him. 

"  We  had  sort  of  thought  of  asking  the  master  of 
Dyrendal  if  he  had  a  horse  he  could  help  us  out 
with,  but  he  seems  to  be  sick?  " 

Martha  raised  her  eyebrows.  She  sighed,  and 
said,  oh,  yes,  Hans  was  very  sick  to-day. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  quite  serious?  "  said  the  blond 
man,  his  face  clouded  with  an  anxious  look. 

Well,  she  was  afraid  he  had  overstrained  himself 
while  ploughing,  and  perhaps  injured  himself  inter- 
nally. If  he  did  not  become  better  before  evening 
she  thought  they  would  have  to  send  for  the  doctor. 

"  Then  there  is  no  use  talking  about  buying  a 
horse  at  this  house,"  sighed  the  bald-headed  one, 
and  made  a  move  as  if  to  rise. 


g6  God  and  Woman 

Martha,  looking  very  serious,  rose,  and  walked 
over  to  the  bed. 

"  Are  you  well  enough  to  talk  to  these  men?  " 
she  asked. 

Hans  looked  up  from  under  the  pillow  in  a 
dazed  sort  of  fashion. 

"  Are  there  visitors  here?  "  he  asked  in  a  weak 
and  plaintive  tone  of  voice. 

"  Yes,  but  I  suppose  you  are  so  sick  that  we 
shouldn't  trouble  you?  " 

Hans  moaned,  shook  his  head,  and  pulled  the 
pillow  over  his  head  again. 

The  two  strangers  looked  at  one  another,  rose, 
and  were  about  to  go. 

"  Then  it  is  not  worth  while  to  stay  any  longer," 
said  the  blond  man,  reaching  for  the  door-latch. 

When  Hans  heard  this,  he  raised  his  head,  and 
asked  if  Martha  did  not  have  a  cup  of  coffee  for  the 
travellers. 

Yes,  of  course.  Martha  started  for  the  kitchen 
door,  and  said  they  needn't  be  in  such  a  great  hurry. 
She  hoped  they  would  be  able  to  wait  until  she 
had  cooked  coffee. 

The  strangers  looked  at  one  another  again.  The 
air  seemed  to  become  filled  with  hope.  Then  they 
said  they  didn't  want  anybody  to  go  to  any  trouble 
on  their  account,  and  sat  down  on  their  chairs 
again. 

Hans  seemed  to  be  gaining  in  strength.  He 
fumbled  for  his  pipe,  which  lay  on  a  chair  beside 


God  and  Woman  97 

the  bed,  and  glanced  at  the  strangers  while  he 
struck  a  match. 

"  Perhaps  it  is  a  big  horse  you  are  looking  for," 
he  said,  in  a  whimpering  tone  of  voice. 

"  Oh,  no,  only  an  ordinary  farm  horse.  The  farm 
is  not  very  large,"  the  blond  man  hastened  to  say. 

The  pipe  seemed  to  revive  the7  sick  one.  He 
stretched  himself  out  on  the  bed,  and  began  to  ask 
how  they  intended  to  vote  at  the  election  in  the 
autumn.  The  strangers  exchanged  glances.  Was 
his  illness  not  worse  than  that? 

Martha  came  in,  spread  a  table-cloth,  and  began 
setting  the  table.  Hans  took  more  and  more  inter- 
est in  the  conversation  about  politics  and  elections. 
All  the  time  he  kept  an  eye  on  the  two  strangers. 
He  wondered  how  sharp  they  were. 

"  Are  you  able  to  get  up  and  drink  a  cup  of 
coffee? "  Martha  asked,  when  she  was  ready  to 
serve. 

How  could  she  think  that?  Hans  shook  his  head, 
and  began  to  feel  wretchedly  ill  again.  But  if  she 
would  bring  him  half  a  cup,  he  might  be  able  to 
drink  it. 

The  strangers  went  to  the  table  timidly.  When 
they  had  finished  and  had  thanked  Martha  and 
Hans  for  the  coffee  and  other  refreshments,  Hans 
said  he  might  try  to  get  up  long  enough  to  take 
them  to  the  stable  and  let  them  see  his  horses. 

"  Take  care,  now,  Hans,  so  that  you  don't  do 
what  you  will  regret  later,"  said  Martha,  with  a 
smile.  Hans  looked  at  her  as  if  he  would  ask  her 


98  God  and  Woman 

to  help  him  resist  temptation,  but  it  was  too  late. 
The  next  moment  he  stood  on  the  floor  and  put  on 
his  trousers. 

Martha  stood  at  the  window,  and  followed  them 
with  her  eyes  until  they  disappeared  in  the  stable 
door. 

She  could  not  smile ;  for  at  one  time  she  had  actu- 
ally imagined  she  would  never  give  up  before  Hans 
Lia  was  just  as  fine  a  man  as  the  forester  at  Myr. 

A  moment  later  the  horse  appeared.  Hans 
stumbled  on  the  threshold,  and  the  horse  got  away 
from  him — an  old  trick.  The  horse,  being  rested, 
raised  his  head,  and  set  out  at  a  gallop  around 
the  yard.  It  made  a  fine  appearance,  and,  no 
doubt,  Hans  stood  there  and  swore  that  he  would 
not  part  with  that  horse  for  anything  in  the  world. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  not  long  before  the  blond 
stranger  brought  out  his  pocket-book.  And  it  was 
not  until  Hans  had  the  money  in  his  breast  pocket 
that  he  succeeded  in  catching  the  horse. 

"  Pshaw ! "  he  said  a  bit  shamefacedly,  when  he 
came  in  and  the  strangers  were  gone,  "  The  horse 
is  more  than  good  enough  for  that  rascal.  And 
now  I  suppose  that  is  about  the  last  horse-deal  for 
me,"  he  added,  in  a  tone  of  voice  as  if  he  felt  old 
and  worn  out. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  IX 

THEN  came  the  bright  summer  morning  when  the 
cows  were  to  be  let  out  of  their  stalls  and  taken  to 
the  pasture  and  summer  stable  in  the  uplands. 

There  was  unrest  in  the  long,  dimly  lighted  cow- 
stable.  The  maids  shouted  as  they  loosed  the 
halters.  There  was  impatient  bellowing  and  clank- 
ing of  chains.  Out  in  the  barn-yard  stood  Knut, 
who  had  armed  himself  with  a  large  new  whip, 
which  he  swung  mightily  and  made  to  crack.  To- 
day he  felt  himself  the  person  of  chief  importance. 
Now  folks  would  find  out  what  he  really  was. 

"  What  do  you  intend  to  use  that  for?  "  asked  the 
mistress  as  she  went  by. 

Oh,  with  that  he  would  tame  cows  so  that  they 
would  obey  at  the  mere  sound  of  it.  And  that  was 
exactly  the  way  it  was  done  at  artillery  drills. 

"  But  the  cows  are  not  going  to  be  drilled.  You 
go  and  put  the  whip  where  you  found  it." 

Knut's  high  spirits  fell,  but  the  mistress  was  not 
one  who  could  be  defied.  He  did  as  he  was  told, 
and  equipped  himself  with  a  long  willow  branch 
instead. 

The  red  bell-cow  showed  herself  in  the  doorway 
and  stopped  for  a  moment,  blinded  by  the  bright 
light.  Then  she  came  out,  followed  by  white,  black, 

99 


ioo  God  and  Woman 

and  brown  cows,  which,  lowing  and  hastening  liy 
one  another,  spread  over  the  barn-yard.  They 
danced  and  tumbled  about  in  their  wild  joy  over 
freedom  and  summer.  Then  came  the  march 
through  the  fields  to  the  uplands.  Martha  led  the 
bell-cow  first.  Knut  galloped  around  with  a  large 
blue  patch  on  the  back  of  his  pants,  swinging  his 
whip  with  a  hip  and  a  ho  to  keep  the  other  cows 
together.  There  were  heavy,  large-bellied  milch- 
cows,  and  slender  heifers  with  eyelashes  so  fine 
and  fair  that  they  might  well  be  called  maidens. 
There  were  red  hornless  cows  with  white  heads,  and 
cows  with  horns  whose  bright  brass  tips  glittered 
in  the  sunshine.  The  animals  were  maddened  by 
the  bright  light,  the  limitless  space,  and  the  odour 
of  forest  and  meadow.  Old  stiff  cows  kicked  up 
their  hind  legs  so  that  their  joints  cracked,  raised 
their  horns  and  bellowed,  and  imagined  they  were 
young.  Only  the  brown,  podgy  old  ox  walked 
soberly,  and  was  cross  because  he  was  the  last  to  be 
let  out. 

Old  red  Kosa,  with  her  big  and  heavy  udder, 
found  it  hard  to  follow  the  others,  because  her 
hoofs  had  grown  so  long  that  they  were  bent  up 
like  broken  nails,  and  every  step  was  painful.  She 
took  very  short  steps,  and,  even  then,  winced  at 
every  step.  No  one  seemed  to  have  sense  enough  to 
cut  off  those  long  nails. 

"  Get  along  there !  "  shouted  Knut,  as  he  swung 
his  whip.  Rosa  strained  until  the  white  of  her 
eyes  showed,  and  tried  to  run,  but  she  was  com- 


God  and  Woman  101 

pelled  to  give  it  up.  She  could  better  stand  the 
lashes  of  the  whip. 

At  the  gate  of  the  summer  pasture  stood  Martha, 
counting  the  cows  as  they  went  through.  There 
were  thirty  in  all,  but  there  should  be  one  more. 

"  Where  is  Rosa?  "  she  asked  of  the  boy. 

"  Oh,  that  old  pig  won't  go,"  he  said,  panting. 
"  But  you  just  wait.  I'll  show  her."  And  away  he 
ran  swinging  his  whip. 

Martha  looked  at  the  old  cow,  which  was  being 
driven  mercilessly  by  Knut. 

"  I  think  we'll  keep  you  at  home  in  the  stable  this 
summer,"  she  said,  in  a  motherly  tone  of  voice. 
She  patted  her  on  the  neck,  took  her  by  the  horn, 
and  led  her  back  again.  "  Come  with  me,  bossy !  " 

Rosa  had  been  with  them  since  the  days  on  the 
little  farm  up  among  the  mountains,  when  Martha 
did  the  milking  herself.  Many  a  time  it  had  been 
a  comfort  to  her  to  place  her  forehead  against  the 
warm  side  of  the  peaceful  animal,  and  she  had 
not  forgotten  it. 

The  cows  stood  for  a  moment  behind  the  fence, 
looking  up  toward  the  hills  and  snorting.  Memo- 
ries of  the  life  up  there  last  year  were  in  the  air. 
They  scented  the  long  summer  of  freedom,  the  juicy 
grass,  and  the  cool,  clear  brooks  from  which  they 
might  drink. 

Then  off  they  went.  They  pawed  the  moss  and 
heather  and  white  anemones.  They  wanted  to  be 
everywhere  at  once.  White  backs  vanished  under 
leaves.  Brass-tipped  horns  flashed  through  the 


IO2  God  and  Woman 


bushes.  Bells,  bellowings,  and  the  sound  of  break- 
ing branches  filled  the  air  of  the  bright,  warm  day. 
The  boy  could  follow  without  much  trouble,  but 
the  blueberries  were  nearly  ripe — his  mouth  was 
already  stained.  See,  there  is  an  adder!  Ah,  he's 
slipped  under  a  stone.  The  lower  hill-slopes  are 
covered  with  bluish-grey  alders,  with  here  and  there 
towering,  green  spruce-trees,  and,  arching  over  the 
whole,  a  clear  blue  sky  without  a  single  cloud. 

Later  Knut  ascends  Lookout  Hill.  He  stands 
there  and  looks  upon  the  billowing  world  of  moun- 
tain and  forest  and  lake  and  field.  Beyond  the 
blue  pasture,  far  to  the  north,  there  is  something 
still  more  blue,  which  blends  with  and  disappears 
in  the  sky.  It  is  the  ocean.  This  is  the  first  time 
Knut  has  been  able  to  see  so  far.  He  remains  stand- 
ing, lost  in  thought,  gazing. 

So  the  day  passes.  The  cows  have  become  more 
quiet  and  peaceful.  Knut  sits  upon  a  stone,  eat- 
ing his  lunch,  and  drinking  water  from  a  brook. 
He  is  his  own  master.  When  he  becomes  tired  of 
turning  somersaults  in  the  heather,  he  sits  down 
and  cuts  birch  twigs  for  a  broom.  It  is  even  more 
pleasant  to  lie  on  the  back  in  the  soft  moss  and 
listen  to  the  murmur  of  the  wind  through  the  trees 
and  look  up  into  the  sky.  There  is  an  odour  of 
warm  juniper,  sap,  and  rotten  bark.  The  gnats,  no 
doubt,  believe  the  sky  is  a  shining  ocean,  and  every 
leaf  a  green  ship  upon  which  they  may  embark  and 
set  sail. 

Then  he  thinks  for  a  moment  about  grandmother, 


God  and  Woman  103 

and  the  future,  when  the  world  will  call  him  Knut, 
the  mighty  one.  Then  his  eyes  close. 

The  warm  sunshine  on  his  face,  and  the  cow-bells, 
and  the  brook,  and  the  murmur  among  the  trees — 
all  the  many  sounds  of  the  day  mingle  and  take  the 
form  of  a  song.  It  fills  and  sways  his  entire  body. 
He  places  his  hands  under  his  head,  raises  one 
knee,  and  begins  to  hum  also,  but  what  the  tune 
is  he  does  not  know. 

At  last  he  must  gather  the  cows  again.  He  finds 
himself  in  bog  between  two  hills.  Then  it  occurs 
to  him  that  the  cows  are  in  reality  the  Israelites. 
Now  they  go  about  looking  innocent,  but  they  have 
made  up  their  minds  to  march  out  of  Egypt  to- 
night. The  bell-cow  is  Moses  and  the  ox  is  Aaron 
with  the  long  staff. 

Toward  evening,  when  the  cows  are  eating  their 
way  homewards,  Knut  again  climbs  Lookout  Hill. 
This  time  he  gazes  upon  the  western  sky,  which  is  a 
world  of  many-coloured  clouds.  In  the  north  many 
curious  figures  come  riding  out  of  the  sea.  He 
understands  at  least  so  much  that  one  of  them  is 
King  David  and  another  is  Abigail,  both  clad  in 
garments  of  black  and  gold. 

A  few  days  later  Martha  said  to  Hans:  "  It  is 
strange  how  little  milk  the  cows  are  giving  this 
year.  It  must  be  that  the  grass  in  the  pasture  is 
poor  this  summer." 

The  following  day  Hans  came  in  and  walked 
back  and  forth  across  the  floor  while  filling  his 
pipe. 


IO4  God  and  Woman 

"  It  is  not  strange  that  the  cows  do  not  give  much 
milk/'  he  said.  "  I  made  a  trip  up  to  the  pasture 
and  found  out  what  a  matchless  herd-boy  we  have." 

"  No,  did  you?  "  she  said,  raising  her  eyes  from 
her  knitting. 

"  He  drove  and  drilled  the  cows  like  a  general. 
He  rode  on  the  back  of  the  ox." 

"  Oh,  that's  what's  the  matter !  "  said  Martha. 

When  Knut  had  come  home  and  sat  alone  eating 
his  supper,  the  mistress  said  to  him  in  a  very  inno- 
cent tone  of  voice : 

"  I  suppose  everything  is  all  right  with  the  cows 
and  the  pasture,  Knut?  " 

"  Yes,  of  course !  It  is  great  fun  to  be  in  the 
woods,"  he  said,  and  crammed  his  mouth  full. 

"  And  the  cows,  I  hope,  get  all  the  grass  they  can 
eat?  "  she  continued. 

Hans  struck  a  match  in  order  to  light  his  pipe, 
but  forgot  about  it  and  looked  sideways  at  Knut. 

"  Yes,  they  eat  like  mad,"  said  Knut.  "  They 
don't  look  up  from  one  end  of  the  day  to  the  other. 
And  so  much  grass  as  there  is  this  year !  They  are 
almost  ready  to  burst  when  evening  comes." 

"And  you  enjoy  riding  on  the  ox?  "  said  Martha 
innocently. 

The  boy  stopped  chewing  and  became  red  in  the 
face.  He  seemed  to  want  to  sink  through  the 
floor. 

Hans  said  with  a  curious  laugh :  "  So  you  are  a 
cavalryman?  "  and  struck  another  match. 

"  I — I   only  wanted  to  show  another  boy,   the 


God  and  Woman  105 

sacristan's  boy,  how — how  the  battle  of  Austerlitz 
was  fought." 

He  looked  first  at  one,  then  at  the  other.  They 
also  looked  at  one  another.  Martha  sniffled.  Hans 
rose,  and  walked  over  to  Knut,  who  felt  an  iron 
grip  on  his  neck. 

"  I  advise  you  to  let  the  cows  eat  in  peace,"  said 
Hans,  and  shook  the  boy  until  he  began  to  cry. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  in  the  middle  of  June 
there  was  a  large  temperance  meeting  at  the  sac- 
ristan's house  which  was  situated  at  the  north  end 
of  the  lake.  Flags  were  waving  over  the  house-tops. 
The  courtyard  was  full  of  people.  A  travelling 
temperance  speaker,  with  a  long  cape  and  blue 
spectacles,  stood  before  a  reading-stand,  which  was 
decorated  with  leaves,  and  spoke  thundering  words. 
Coffee  and  lemonade  were  served  at  long  tables 
along  one  side.  Children  were  running  in  and  out 
among  the  houses  shouting  and  laughing.  Young 
men  and  young  women  were  walking  about  in 
groups  teasing  one  another. 

"  See,  there  is  a  team  from  Dyrendal,"  was  heard 
among  the  people,  and  all  turned  to  see  who  the 
newcomers  were.  It  was  almost  as  if  the  colonel 
himself  came  driving. 

It  was  Martha  and  Hans.  The  fat,  brown  horse 
trotted  along  calmly  before  the  gig,  and  the  two 
who  sat  in  the  gig  pretended  they  did  not  see  any- 
one until  two  men  came  up  and  offered  to  help 
unhitch. 


io6  God  and  Woman 

Martha  gathered  her  dark  shawl  about  her.  She 
walked  slowly  through  the  crowd  and  allowed  those 
to  shake  hands  with  her  who  desired  to  do  so. 
When  Hans  returned  in  his  pressed  homespun  suit 
and  brown  plush  hat  and  thin-soled  shoes,  he  had 
a  creepy  feeling  along  the  spine,  because  a  couple 
of  small  boys  had  raised  their  hats  to  him.  Was 
not  he  from  Dyrendal,  and  almost  as  good  as  the 
colonel  himself?  There  were  also  sly  smiles  and 
sidelong  looks.  What  did  that  drunkard  and  scoun- 
drel want  at  a  temperance  meeting? 

After  the  speaking,  the  sacristan's  wife  invited 
Martha  and  Hans  into  the  front  room,  together  with 
the  speaker  and  the  minister. 

"  Oh,  I  believe  we  have  here  the  new  political 
leader,"  said  the  minister,  trying  to  be  genial. 

"  Well,"  smiled  Hans,  "  you  may  call  me  that  if 
you  like." 

Late  at  night  gigs  and  carts  drove  in  all  direc- 
tions from  the  meeting.  Martha  and  Hans  let  their 
horse  jog  along  at  its  own  pace  on  the  road  beside 
the  lake,  enjoying  the  warm  summer  night. 

Thus  the  step  was  taken.  Hans  Dyrendal  had 
signed  the  pledge  and  joined  the  temperance  society. 
Both  sat  silent  and  felt  that  a  turn  in  the  road  had 
been  passed.  Something  new  had  begun. 

Martha  took  a  deep  breath.  A  peace  had  come 
over  her  which  she  had  not  felt  since  her  marriage. 
And — yet  it  was  not  enough.  Something  was  still 
lacking. 

When  he  had  arrived  home  and  unhitched  the 


God  and  Woman  107 

horse,  he  did  not  go  in,  although  it  was  nearly  mid- 
night. It  was  light  as  day.  The  clouds  in  the 
western  sky  were  aglow  after  the  sunset.  He  felt 
a  desire  to  wander  about.  He  stopped  here  and 
there  to  look  at  the  landscape.  All  was  changed. 
The  open  book  before  him  spoke  a  different  lan- 
guage. Hereafter  he  would  not  be  looking  for  the 
same  things  on  the  roads  as  formerly.  Hans  Lia 
would  make  the  harbour  and  would  become  Hans 
I  of  Dyrendal. 

Farewell,  youth!  Farewell,  merry  journeys  to 
the  market  in  the  village !  Farewell,  all  you  horse- 
dealers  from  Jemtland  that  I  have  led  by  the  nose 
so  many  a  blessed  time.  Farewell,  you  glass  filled 
with  joy!  Many  a  time  you  have  kicked  my  legs 
from  under  me  in  the  street,  and  landed  me  in  jail, 
but  you  were  a  good  comrade  for  all  that.  You 
made  many  a  stiff-necked  trader  easy  to  manage, 
and  when  I  was  heavy-hearted  you  brought  wedding 
and  ball  and  dance.  Farewell,  horse  trading — fare- 
well, easily  earned  money!  Now  I  shall  have  to 
save  my  shillings.  At  an  end,  all  merriment  and 
joy !  Farewell ! 

When  the  new  day  began  to  glow  in  the  eastern 
sky  Hans  still  wandered  about.  He  felt  an  impulse 
of  mad  defiance  surge  up  within  him.  He  had  a 
desire  to  get  drunk  and  allow  the  whole  thing  to  be 
swept  to  sea  again — hurrah !  But  perhaps  it  would 
be  best  to  take  that  desire  by  the  throat.  At  last 
he  found  himself  standing  on  the  headland  near 
the  fishing-net.  Here  there  was  no  one  to  see  him. 


io8  God  and  Woman 

During  the  three  or  four  hours  of  the  night  the 
fishermen  were  at  home,  sound,  asleep. 

It  was  here  that  Hans  permitted  himself  a  bit  of 
nonsense  as  a  last  farewell.  He  rowed  out,  opened 
the  fishing-net,  tied  the  boat  to  the  ladder,  climbed 
to  the  top  of  the  ladder,  and  began  to  stare  into  the 
lake  at  the  white  bottom.  What  was  the  good  of 
it?  If  any  salmon  should  come  there  was  no  one 
to  haul  the  net  ashore.  Nevertheless,  he  stood  there 
and  stared  as  if  the  whole  thing  were  in  earnest. 
He  waited  patiently  hour  after  hour.  There  were 
flashes  of  gold  in  the  billows  down  there.  The  sun 
rose,  but  Hans  remained  standing  motionless.  He 
began  to  fear  that  those  who  tended  the  net  might 
come  and  think  he  was  mad.  What  of  it?  Here 
he  stood,  and  here  he  would  remain  standing. 

Ah,  what  was  that!  Shadows — there  are  more! 
The  grey  streaks  of  lightning  in  the  water  cannot 
be  mistaken.  Heaps  of  silver  coins  dance  before  his 
eyes. 

He  opens  his  mouth  and  lets  out  a  wild  "  Haul 
in!" 

The  echo  sounded  in  the  yellow  morning,  but 
the  rope  did  not  move,  and  of  course  he  knew  it 
would  not.  Heaps  of  silver  coins  were  swept  out 
to  sea — hurrah ! 

He  crept  down  from  the  ladder,  stepped  into  the 
boat,  and  rowed  ashore.  Ah — this  loss  at  last  after 
such  success — as  a  farewell — even  if  it  was  only 
nonsense,  it  warmed  him  and  tasted  like  a  drink  of 
strong  brandy. 


God  and  Woman  109 

"  Where  in  the  world  have  you  been?  "  asked 
Martha.  She  was  awake,  although  it  was  only  three 
o'clock,  with  the  early  sun  streaming  in  through 
the  window. 

"  Oh,  I  have  been  wandering  about  over  field  and 
meadow,"  he  said,  and  began  to  undress. 

"  It  seemed  exactly  as  if  I  heard  someone  shout 
'  Haul  in/  "  she  yawned. 

"  How  could  that  be  possible — now  at  night?  If 
anyone  shouted  I  should  have  heard  it." 

They  lay  there  side  by  side.  The  clock  ticked. 
Neither  of  them  could  sleep. 

"  It  must  be  the  strong  coffee  that  keeps  one 
awake,"  she  said. 

"  Oh,  it  must  be  that  you  have  something  on  your 
mind,"  he  said,  and  turned  toward  the  wall. 

After  a  time  she  said :  "  Perhaps  it  is  so.  Have 
you  thought  what  we  are  to  do — when  we  are  old 
and  no  longer  are  able  to  take  care  of  ourselves?  " 

"  Well — it  won't  be  worse  for  us  than  for  other 
people,"  he  mumbled. 

"  Other  people  have  children.  They  have  their 
own  to  go  to  for  refuge.  But  we — we  must  put 
ourselves  in  the  power  of  total  strangers.  It  doesn't 
help  how  much  we  save."  She  sighed  and  closed 
her  eyes,  as  if  better  to  see  the  situation  clearly. 

"  Well,  that  cannot  be  helped,"  he  said,  and 
turned  his  face  toward  her. 

Both  were  silent  for  a  time,  then  at  last  she  said : 
"  What  if  we  should  adopt  a  child?  " 

"  Hem !  "     He  gave  a  sudden  start.     Then  both 


no  God  and  Woman 

were  silent.  It  was  as  if  something  had  escaped 
her  lips,  which  both  long  had  thought  of  but  had 
hesitated  to  mention. 


The  summer  was  passing  rapidly.  The  St.  Hans 
fair  was  approaching,  but  this  year  Hans  had  de- 
cided to  remain  at  home.  It  irritated  him  to  see 
others  prepare  to  go.  He  would  perhaps  read  in 
a  hymn-book  that  day,  or  take  Knut  along  and 
wander  through  the  woods  to  pass  away  the  time. 

Knut — yes,  that  boy  reminded  them  each  day  of 
the  very  thing  they  had  been  talking  about  lately. 
When  he  chattered,  when  he  sat  at  the  table  and 
ate,  when  Martha  patched  his  little  pants,  wrhen 
Hans  took  him  along  on  his  wanderings,  it  was 
the  same  constantly — he  reminded  them  of  what 
they  themselves  lacked,  and  their  sense  of  want 
became  worse  and  worse. 

Hans  came  home  one  day  and  asked  Martha  to 
come  into  the  front  room.  He  took  a  yellow  bank- 
book from  his  pocket,  and  said : 

"  Now  the  worst  is  over,  Martha  mine." 

"  What  is  that?  " 

"  Dyrendal  is  paid  for.  This  Hans  Longway  has 
bought  the  place.  The  last  debt  is  paid.  And  still 
we  have  this  much  cash  left."  The  book  showed 
there  was  five  hundred  dollars  in  the  bank. 

"  Indeed !  "  she  said,  and  looked  away. 

"  Indeed?  "  he  repeated,  as  if  hurt.  "  You  mean 
this  is  nothing  to  speak  of?  " 


God  and  Woman  in 

"  Oh,  no,  not  that,"  she  said,  and  went  out. 

He  understood  what  she  meant.  What  sne  did 
mean  was : 

"  We  save  and  put  away,  and  soon  we  snail  be 
rich,  but  who  is  it  we  are  saving  for — we  two?  " 

They  walked  out  into  the  fields  together  one  Sun- 
day evening,  and  saw  that  the  crops  were  doing 
well.  Hans  talked  of  breaking  up  twenty  acres  of 
new  land  north  of  the  orchard,  but  the  next  moment 
he  stroked  his  large  beard  and  added,  almost  as  if 
ashamed  of  himself : 

"  For  that  matter,  I  suppose  we  have  enough  as 
it  is — we  two." 

Now  at  last  they  could  afford  to  pause  long 
enough  to  see  what  a  beautiful  place  Dyrendal 
really  was.  And  was  it  not  more  than  that?  Not 
only  had  it  brought  them  prosperity  and  social  posi- 
tion, but  it  was  a  power  in  itself  which  had  forced 
Hans  to  become  a  decent  and  respectable  man. 
Lately,  when  he  walked  upon  the  stately  avenue 
leading  to  the  house,  or  in  the  garden,  he  would 
have  a  sort  of  Sunday  feeling  which  reminded  him 
of  the  organ  in  church.  When  he  came  driving 
home  on  a  dark  night  and  saw  lights  from  all  the 
windows  he  had  a  desire  in  his  heart  to  thank  the 
house,  which  had  such  a  magnificent  appearance, 
for  bidding  him  welcome.  But  he  could  not  live 
for  ever.  Who  should  have  Dyrendal  after  him? 

When,  at  night,  they  had  gone  to  bed  and  closed 
their  eyes,  pictures  appeared  of  the  tasks  of  the 
day,  that  which  must  be  done  on  the  morrow,  the 


112  God  and  Woman 


life  on  the  farm — all  that  was  valuable,  and  all 
they  were  responsible  for.  It  was  their  life — it 
was  the  greater  part  of  themselves.  Horses  were 
tethered  out  on  the  hill-sides,  a  new  sort  of  barley 
had  been  sown  on  a  plot  in  front  of  the  house :  this 
was  a  part  of  Dyrendal — it  was  a  part  of  the  master 
himself.  In  the  daytime  cattle  grazed  on  the  up- 
lands ;  one  cow  was  kept  in  the  barn  and  was  about 
to  have  a  calf ;  the  best  of  butter  came  from  the  milk- 
house:  it  was  a  part  of  Dyrendal — it  was  a  part 
of  Martha  herself.  And  when  they  went  driving 
and  folks  raised  their  hats  to  them,  again  it  was 
Dyrendal  that  made  them  such  important  people. 

"Who  should  have  Dyrendal  when  they  were 
gone?  " 

As  they  lay  there  with  their  eyes  closed,  still 
in  the  prime  of  life,  it  was  as  if  old  age  and  death 
somehow  cast  its  shadow  in  through  the  window. 
All  the  days,  as  they  came  and  went,  formed  to- 
gether a  stream  that  carried  them  along.  It  ended 
over  a  precipice,  however  much  they  disliked  it  and 
tried  to  hold  back. 

But  Dyrendal  they  could  not  take  with  them. 
Dyrendal  would  part  company  with  them,  however 
much  they  had  paid  up  everything,  and  had  money 
at  interest.  And  strangers  would  live  in  their 
house,  and  folks  would  take  off  their  hats  to  the 
strangers  when  they  went  driving,  because  it  was 
a  team  from  Dyrendal. 

And  when  they  were  gone  no  one  would  weep. 
The  new  owner  would  not  say :  "  My  father  lived 


God  and  Woman  113 

here."  He  would  not  point  with  pride  to  wide 
stretches  of  field  and  say :  "  All  this  my  father 
brought  under  cultivation." 

A  cold  chill  stole  in  upon  them  where  they  lay. 
It  was  as  if  they  grieved  to  see  the  morrow  because 
it  meant  one  day  less  again. 

"  Are  you  awake  also,  Martha?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  I  am  awake." 


Toward  autumn  they  sat  alone  before  the  fire- 
place in  the  twilight  one  evening  and  gazed  into  the 
fire.  The  servants  had  a  holiday.  Knut  was  visit- 
ing his  grandmother.  When  any  of  the  servants 
thought  of  home  it  was  not  Dyrendal. 

Hans  smoked  his  pipe.  He  bent  forward  and 
rested  his  elbows  on  his  knees.  The  light  from  the 
fire  fell  upon  his  bald  head  and  his  wealth  of  brown 
beard.  Martha  folded  her  hands  and  continued  to 
gaze  into  the  fire. 

Lately  the  matter  of  adopting  a  child  had  been 
brought  up  more  frequently.  Martha  had  a  sister 
who  was  married  and  lived  in  their  native  parish. 
This  sister  was  older  than  Martha,  and  Martha  had 
not  seen  her  for  many  years,  but  she  did  not  hate  her 
as  she  hated  her  brothers.  It  had  occurred  to  her 
often  of  late  that  her  sister  was  a  widow  ami  had 
both  sons  and  daughters.  Some  of  them  were  still, 
no  doubt,  quite  small. 

"Should  we  drive  over  to  see  your  sister?" 
Hans  had  suggested. 


114  God  and  Woman 

She  understood  him,  but  did  not  have  the  courage 
to  answer  at  that  time. 

To  be  sure,  she  had  avenged  herself  on  her  near 
relatives  by  rising  in  the  world  in  spite  of  them. 
But  would  she  have  to  show  her  helpless  poverty  in 
this  other  way?  Must  she  really  go  to  her  sister 
and  beg  for  the  loan  of  an  heir? 

To  go  to  a  total  stranger  would  be  still  worse. 

It  was  this  they  were  trying  to  figure  out  while 
the  autumn  day  became  darker  outside. 

They  saw  the  strange  child  to  whom  others  had 
given  life.  This  child  they  would  take  to  them- 
selves, and  try  to  forget  it  was  not  their  own.  It 
would  grow  up  and  call  them  father  and  mother. 
One  day  it  would  have  all  they  had  scraped  to- 
gether. When  they  were  old  they  would  put  them- 
selves in  the  power  of  this  borrowed  child,  and 
would  have  faith  in  it,  as  if  it  were  their  own. 
And  when  the  moment  came  that  they  must  close 
their  eyes,  there  would  be  a  near  relative  at  the 
bedside  to  hold  them  by  the  hand.  And  then  he 
would  continue  their  life  at  Dyrendal,  and  would 
continue  to  call  them  father  and  mother. 

Hans  smoked  and  smoked.  It  was  the  first  time 
he  had  ever  hesitated  to  stake  a  big  sum  on  a  single 
card. 

Of  course,  if  the  thing  was  to  be  done  there  was 
no  sense  in  postponing  it. 

At  last  Martha  cleared  her  throat,  and  said: 

"  Well — if  you  think  we  ought  to  go  to-morrow, 
why " 


God  and  Woman  115 

Hans  started  and  looked  towards  her.  He  heard 
that  she  breathed  heavily,  as  if  these  words  from 
her  had  now  cast  the  die  for  both  of  them. 

That  night,  as  they  lay  side  by  side,  they  felt . 
that  again  they  had  come  to  the  parting  of  the  ' 
ways.  Hitherto  there  had  been  only  they  them- 1 
selves.  One  could  do  the  other  good  or  harm,  but : 
at  any  rate  they  were  only  two.  Now  there  would 
be  a  third  who  would  be  a  part  of  them,  and  who  ' 
would  have  to  be  considered  in  everything. 

They  saw  the  child.  They  did  not  know  its 
name.  They  knew  only  that  it  was  a  boy.  They 
had  no  idea  whether  he  was  light  or  dark.  But  he 
must  have  a  good  disposition.  They  saw  them- 
selves as  old  and  worn-out  people,  who  needed  to 
have  their  own  about  them.  Then  he  would  not  be 
a  stranger  who  would  look  upon  them  as  a  burden 
and  wish  them  dead.  Could  they  depend  upon 
that?  Would  he  really  be  good  to  them  when  the 
time  should  come? 

The  next  day  they  drove  out  dressed  in  their 
Sunday  clothes.  There  was  a  certain  mysterious- 
ness  about  them.  When  folks  met  them  and  asked 
where  they  were  going,  they  answered  that  they 
were  going  for  a  drive.  They  drove  very  slowly — 
as  if  they  felt  that  they  would  soon  enough  reach 
their  destination. 


END  OF  PART  I 


God  and  Woman  Part  II 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  I 

MARTHA  saw  her  native  parish  again.  The  road 
led  by  Ersland.  She  saw  the  house,  once  yellow, 
now  weather-beaten  and  drab.  No  doubt  her 
brothers  felt  that  they  could  not  afford  to  throw 
away  money  for  anything  so  unimportant  as  paint. 
The  road  also  passed  Myr.  Here  she  saw  a  little 
boy  with  golden  locks  playing  in  the  garden.  She 
turned  her  face  away.  The  nearer  they  got  to 
her  sister's  farm,  the  greater  became  her  desire  to 
turn  around  and  go  home.  What  sort  of  errand 
was  this? 

The  horse  jogged  along,  and  every  moment  they 
were  getting  nearer  and  nearer.  About  dusk  they 
reached  the  end  of  their  journey.  The  sister,  a 
dried-up  woman  in  the  fifties,  stood-  on  the  door 
step,  shielding  her  eyes  with  her  hand,  trying  to 
make  out  who  the  visitors  might  be.  Could  she 
believe  her  eyes?  The  windows  were  full  of  faces. 
What  visitors  were  these  coming  to  see  them? 

The  sisters  greeted  one  another  with  a  hand- 
shake and  a  thin  smile.  Each  thought  of  the 
other :  "  You  have  changed  a  great  deal  since  last 
we  met."  Hans  and  Martha  sat  near  the  door  like 
strangers.  The  younger  children  stood  around  and 
stared  at  them  with  their  fingers  in  their  mouths. 

119 


I2O  God  and  Woman 

They  did  not  look  quite  as  if  they  had  been  washed 
and  combed  that  day.  Of  course,  it  was  not  to  be 
expected  that  everything  should  be  neat  and  or- 
derly in  a  house  where  so  many  feet  ran  in  and 
out,  but  Martha  thought,  nevertheless,  "  If  I  had 
as  many  little  ones  to  keep  the  house  in  order  for, 
I  am  sure  it  would  look  different." 

It  was  the  youngsters,  however,  for  whom  she 
had  an  eye.  It  was  hard  to  keep  from  smiling ;  for 
Hans  seemed  to  be  occupied  with  keeping  his  pipe 
lit,  while  they  were  talking  about  the  weather  and 
the  crops  and  the  sister  set  the  table.  But  it  was 
the  youngsters  in  whom  he  also  was  most  inter- 
ested. There  was  a  grown  boy,  who,  no  doubt, 
would  inherit  the  farmstead.  Two  red-headed 
girls  in  the  confirmation  age — they  were  too  old, 
and,  besides,  it  was  a  boy  they  wanted.  There  was 
a  boy  of  twelve — Mis  was  his  name — and  a  girl  of 
six.  Then  there  was  a  boy  of  four.  The  youngest 
was  two.  Cinderella,  of  course,  the  mother  would 
never  part  with.  It  would  have  to  be,  no  doubt, 
the  boy  who  was  four  years  old.  Hans  began  to 
make  advances  to  him.  He  tried  to  get  him  to  sit 
on  his  lap.  He  exchanged  glances  with  Martha. 
They  were  agreed,  and  both  had  a  strong  desire  to 
smile. 

That  evening  they  said  nothing  about  their  er- 
rand. It  was  the  next  morning,  when  the  sisters 
were  alone  in  the  kitchen,  Martha  suggested  that 
perhaps  one  of  the  children  might  like  to  go  back 
with  them  to  Dyrendal  and  remain  awhile.  It 


God  and  Woman  121 

would  be  quite  a  treat  to  have  such  a  mischief- 
maker  in  the  house  for  a  few  days,  she  thought 

The  sister  gave  her  a  side  glance.  "  Oh,  that 
would  never  do,"  she  thought.  "  Of  course,  it 
would  be  a  great  favour  to  the  child  to  give  it  such 
an  outing ;  but  there  is  always  so  much  bother  with 
little  ones,  and  you,  who  are  not  used  to  such 
things,  would  soon  be  both  tired  and  sorry." 

"  I  think  not,"  said  Martha.  She  felt  she  was 
becoming  red.  "  If  you  have  been  able  to  take  care 
of  so  many,  I  think  I  can  manage  one." 

"Well,  which  one  had  you  thought  of?"  asked 
the  sister. 

"  Oh,  I  had  thought,  perhaps,  the  one  who  is  four 
years  old.  What  is  his  name — Paul?" 

"  Paul,  the  poor  fellow,  he  is  so  little,  but " 

The  sister  hesitated.  Martha  had  never  felt  so 
much  like  a  beggar  as  at  this  moment. 

Little  Paul  became  quite  a  man  when  he  heard 
that  he  was  to  be  permitted  to  wear  his  new  clothes 
and  go  home  with  his  aunt. 

When  Hans  and  Martha  drove  away  Paul  sat 
between  them.  The  red  ribbons  of  his  Scotch  cap 
fluttered  in  the  wind.  His  brothers  and  sisters 
looked  on  with  mingled  feelings  of  pride  and  envy. 
The  mother  called  after  him  that  now  he  must 
be  a  good  boy,  and  dried  her  eyes. 

The  boy  was  in  raptures  for  some  time.  Then  he 
wanted  them  to  go  back  so  that  his  mother  might 
come  also.  When  he  was  refused,  he  became  very 
sober.  He  looked  back.  As  the  house  was  no 


122  God  and  Woman 

longer  in  view  he  wanted  to  get  down  from  the 
gig  and  run  home.  Martha  coaxed  him  to  go  with 
them  to  Dyrendal  first,  then  he  might  see  his  mother 
some  other  time.  But  the  boy  realised  he  was 
among  strangers,  and  thought  they  wanted  to  take 
him  away  by  force.  He  began  to  cry.  He  tried  to 
tear  himself  away  and  jump  to  the  ground.  Martha 
held  him  fast  and  spoke  kindly  to  him.  Hans 
promised  to  give  him  a  colt  as  soon  as  they  got  home. 
The  boy's  only  thought  was  that  they  were  taking 
him  so  far  away  that  he  would  never  see  his  mother 
again.  He  cried  and  kicked  and  struggled  for  dear 
life.  Folks  came  out  of  the  houses  they  passed  and 
stared  at  them.  Hans  whipped  the  horse  into  a 
run.  Martha  must  hold  the  boy  with  both  hands. 
Suddenly  he  struck  her  in  the  face  with  his  fist. 
Hans  swore  under  his  breath,  and  immediately 
turned  the  horse  around. 

"  No,  no,  there  must  be  an  end  to  this/'  he  said 
angrily. 

Soon  they  were  at  the  sister's  house  again. 
Martha  could  not  help  smiling.  She  had  been  a 
mother  to  the  little  madcap  only  half  an  hour,  and 
was  compelled  to  bring  him  back.  His  real  mother 
stood  on  the  steps  and  smiled  also.  She  reached 
out  her  hands,  and  the  boy  tumbled  into  her  arms. 

"  I  want  to  bring  back  what  I  borrowed,"  said 
Martha. 

The  sister  urged  them  to  come  in  and  stay  for  the 
night.  They  accepted  the  invitation.  It  was  time 
enough  to  go  home  empty-handed  on  the  morrow. 


God  and  Woman  123 

The  next  day  the  sister  said :  "  There  is  one  here 
who  is  very  anxious  to  go  with  you ;  but  it  is  almost 
a  shame  to  speak  of  such  things  now. 

"  Which  one  is  it?  "  asked  Hans. 

"  Oh,  it  is  that  boy,  Nils." 

Nils,  who  stood  near-by,  blushed  bashfully.  He 
was  twelve  years  old.  He  was  not  really  too  old 
to  become  their  son. 

"  Well,  why  not  let  him  come  along  then?  "  said 
Martha. 

This  distrust  on  the  part  of  little  Paul  had  hurt 
her  feelings,  and  it  actually  did  her  good  to  see  that 
Nils  showed  confidence  in  her,  and  was  willing  and 
anxious  to  come.  She  patted  him  on  the  back. 

"  So  you  are  not  afraid  of  us,  and  are  willing  to 
risk  it?  Well — it  may  be  we  shall  become  good 
friends  in  time,  you  and  I?  " 

They  drove  away,  with  Nils  standing  up  behind 
the  seat. 

Nils  was  a  chubby  boy  with  hair  the  colour  of 
ashes.  His  face  was  red  and  full.  There  was  a 
smile  in  one  corner  of  his  mouth.  His  eyes  hid 
when  anyone  looked  at  him.  Now  he  stood  there 
in  his  new  suit  of  homespun  and  cap,  and  held  fast 
to  the  brass  hand-rail,  while  the  gig  rumbled  up  hill 
and  down,  through  the  woods. 

When  Hans  turned  his  head  to  make  some  pleas- 
ant remark,  Nils  hid  his  eyes  and  screwed  the  right 
side  of  his  mouth  into  a  smile,  but  did  not  say  a 
word.  It  was  best  to  be  careful.  He  did  a  little 
thinking  for  himself.  He  wondered  how  long  this 


124  God  and  Woman 

visit  would  last.  So  much  he  had  understood  from 
what  the  grown  folks  had  said,  that  there  was  some- 
thing underneath  all  this.  Therefore,  in  order  to  be 
on  the  safe  side,  he  made  a  mental  note  of  certain 
landmarks  along  the  road  so  that  he  would  be  able 
to  find  his  way  home  again. 

The  autumn  day  was  cold.  There  was  a  damp 
wind  from  the  ocean.  The  fields  lay  in  a  hazy  light. 
A  storm  was  brewing.  All  three  shivered  from  the 
cold  as  they  brought  up  at  Dyrendal. 

"  Now  I  think  you  and  I  will  get  something  warm 
into  our  stomachs,"  said  Martha,  leading  Nils  by 
the  hand  into  the  house. 

The  boy  kept  his  cap  pulled  over  his  eyes  and  sat 
down  near  the  door.  It  was  so  clean  and  light  in 
the  house.  All  who  came  in  were  grown  up  and 
spoke  only  sensible,  cold  words.  No  one  made  any 
noise.  No  one  ran  about,  shouting  and  laughing. 
It  was  so  hard  to  breathe.  He  was  told  he  might 
come  to  the  table,  but  in  order  to  do  that  he  must 
cross  the  wide,  painted  floor.  He  remained  sitting 
where  he  was  and  wished  he  were  back  home. 

"  My  dear  boy,  don't  you  want  some  dinner?  " 
said  Martha,  and  brought  him  to  the  table. 

"  You  must  take  off  your  cap,"  said  Hans  when 
the  boy  at  last  sat  on  the  bench  before  the  table  and 
had  taken  a  spoon  in  his  hand.  Nils  smiled  out  of 
the  right  corner  of  his  mouth,  bent  his  head  to  one 
side,  and  blushed ;  but  he  let  the  cap  remain  on  his 
head. 

They    ate    awhile.     Hans    gave    him    sidelong 


God  and  Woman  125 

glances.  Jonetta  giggled.  Kristian  Haug  blurted 
out: 

"  I  say,  you  take  that  cap  off,  boy !  " 

Nils  took  his  cap  off,  and  threw  it  on  the  floor. 
The  grown-up  folks  smiled  again.  He  began  to 
swallow  his  tears.  Then  he  looked  out  of  the  win- 
dow, and  tried  to  figure  how  far  it  would  be  to  walk 
home. 

Nils  began  to  wake  up  when  Knut  came  in  with 
slate  and  books  under  his  arm.  Knut  stopped 
abruptly  when  he  saw  the  strange  boy,  and  Nils 
stared  at  him. 

"  There  is  one  who  is  so  smart  in  school  that  he 
expects  to  be  King  some  day,"  said  Hans,  and  rose 
from  the  table. 

The  two  boys  met  outside  later  in  the  day.  Knut 
made  up  his  mind  that  he  was  the  older. 

"  Have  you  many  books?  "  he  asked. 

"  Yes,  those  we  use  in  school,"  answered  Nils. 

"  Pooh !  Don't  you  know  even  all  the  Emperors 
of  Home?  " 

"  No,"  said  Nils. 

Nils  was  not  to  sleep  with  the  servants  in  the 
attic,  but  was  to  have  a  bed  downstairs  in  the  bed- 
room, like  a  person  of  quality.  When  everything 
was  quiet  in  the  house,  and  Martha  and  Hans  had 
gone  to  bed,  they  remained  awake  with  a  strange 
feeling  that  now,  at  last,  a  person  had  come  into 
the  house  who  was  near  to  them.  He  was  not  a 
son,  no,  not  yet;  but  he  might  become  one.  They 
would  have  to  do  their  best  so  that  he  would  come 


126  God  and  Woman 

to  like  them.     But  Martha  still  felt  strangely  dis- 
satisfied.    Why  was  it?    Well — it  was  this,  that  he 
was  too  large.     It  was  the  little  helpless  child  in  her  ' 
arms  that  she  had  wanted  all  these  years— the  first  / 
babble,  while  the  two  clear  eyes  rested  upon  the  ) 
mother  and  the  little  hand  gripped  her  finger.    And  ' 
the  age  when  the  little  one  toddled  along  hanging  i 
in  the  mother's  skirts,  and  lisped  little  foolish  ques-  j 
tions :     "  Mother,  is  the  Lord  in  Heaven  going  to 
have  pork  for  dinner  too?  "     Of  all  this  she  had 
been  cheated.     Nils  came  into  her  life  as  a  large, 
sly  fellow,  who  took  great  care  not  to  say  anything 
foolish.     It  was  as  if  her  dammed-up  desire  to  be  a  >' 
'   mother  must  make  a  great  leap  in  order  to  reach  j 
him. 

"  I  wonder  if  we  ought  to  have  the  shoemaker 
make  him  a  pair  of  tall  boots?  "  Hans  mused,  as 
he  lay  in  bed  smoking.  "  Men  of  his  sort  like  to 
wade  in  the  water." 

"  I  was  just  wondering  if  there  is  enough  home- 
spun cloth  on  hand,  so  that  he  can  have  a  suit  of 
clothes,"  said  Martha. 

"  Oh,  well,  if  there  is  not  enough,  I  can  wait  until 
some  other  time,"  said  Hans. 

They  had  someone  to  think  of  whose  interests 
came  before  their  own.  That  was  something  new. 
They  felt  almost  as  if  it  made  them  better. 

"  I  wonder  if  he  is  sleeping  well?  "  said  Martha. 

"  I  hope  he  is  not  lying  awake,  wishing  he  were 
home  again,"  yawned  Hans. 

Hans  must  get  up  out  of  bed  and  go  to  the  bed- 


God  and  Woman  127 

room  door  in  order  to  listen.  It  was  dark  in  there ; 
but  he  heard  the  quiet  breathing  of  one  who  was 
sleeping.  This  regular  and  peaceful  breathing  was 
almost  like  a  blessing.  Hans  stood  there  for  some 
time,  listening. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  II 

NILS  opened  his  eyes  and  noticed  that  he  was  in  a 
strange  place,  but  beside  the  bed  stood  his  aunt. 
She  smiled,  and  offered  him  a  glass  of  rich  milk  and 
some  cakes  on  a  tray.  It  tasted  good,  but  she 
stroked  his  hair  and  patted  him  on  the  cheek.  This 
he  did  not  like,  because  her  hand  was  different  from 
his  mother's  hand. 

In  the  living-room  there  was  sunshine,  and  near 
the  door  sat  a  man  with  a  grey  beard,  who  took  a 
chew  of  tobacco  as  Mis  came  in. 

"  Well,  I  see  you  have  another  little  man  in  the 
house,"  said  he. 

Martha  smiled,  and  the  old  man  smiled. 

"  He  is  a  relative  of  mine,"  she  said.  "  He  came 
home  with  us  from  my  sister's  house  yesterday." 

"  Is  that  so?  "  said  the  greybeard.  "  Well,  then, 
I  suppose  we  might  as  well  call  him  the  heir." 

"  Oh,  that  does  not  follow  necessarily,"  said 
Martha. 

"  What  do  you  think  about  it,  Nils?"  asked  Hans. 

The  boy  was  not  used  to  being  talked  to  as  if  he 
were  an  important  person.  He  wished  he  were  far 
away.  As  soon  as  he  had  eaten  his  breakfast,  he 
went  outdoors. 

Heir?  For  the  first  time  in  his  life  he  was  among 

128 


God  and  Woman  129 

strangers,  and  did  not  have  his  mother  to  go  to 
with  his  troubles.  He  hunted  for  Knut  so  that  they 
might  find  something  pleasant  to  do  together.  But 
this  thing  about  the  heir  was  still  in  his  mind,  and 
it  would  not  do  to  talk  to  the  herd-boy  about  that. 
He  was  not  here  merely  as  a  visitor  anyway.  There 
was  something  underneath.  What  was  an  heir? 
He  became  sort  of  grown  up  because  he  was  alone 
in  this  matter  and  had  no  one  to  confide  in.  With 
his  cap  drawn  down  over  his  eyes,  in  his  wide  home- 
spun pants  and  red  shirt-sleeves,  the  little  fellow 
walked  about,  first  to  the  stable,  then  to  the  smithy. 
He  stopped  and  took  the  pose  of  a  grown  man  be- 
cause it  was  necessary  for  him  to  think  just  like  a 
grown  person. 

Heir?  Was  he  to  have  everything  here — houses, 
fields,  sows,  horses,  woods,  all?  But  in  that  case  he 
would  have  to  live  here  all  the  time.  He  could  not 
go  home  and  live  with  his  mother  and  his  brothers 
and  sisters  any  more.  What  if  it  were  true?  It 
became  harder  and  harder  not  to  have  anyone  to 
talk  to  about  this. 

During  the  day  he  heard  the  same  thing  time  and 
again.  When  Jonetta  was  alone  with  him  in  the 
wood-shed  she  said :  "  So  you  are  the  crown  prince, 
are  you?"  When  a  cottager's  wife  came  toward 
the  house  carrying  a  pail,  she  stopped  and  looked 
at  him :  "  Well,  well — so  this  is  the  son  of  Dyren- 
dal !  Yes,  yes — it  is  no  mere  trifle  you  will  fall 
heir  to,  if  you  behave  well."  It  was  as  if  all  the 
sunshine  fell  upon  Nils.  He  had  a  strong  desire 


130  God  and  Woman 

to  run  away  into  the  darkness.  At  last  he  hid  be- 
hind the  threshing-machine  in  the  barn.  He  was 
not  in  the  habit  of  thinking.  His  brain  was  in  a 
whirl.  It  was  great  to  be  heir,  crown  prince  at 
Dyrendal.  But  just  now  he  wanted  to  go  home  to 
mother.  It  was  as  if  they  had  tricked  him  into 
coming  here,  and  refused  to  let  him  go  home  again. 
His  feelings  were  hurt,  and  at  last  he  began  to  cry. 
But  if  he  should  go  into  the  house  with  tears  in  his 
eyes,  the  grown-up  folks  would  smile  at  him  again. 
Therefore  he  stole  away  to  the  stable,  and  washed 
his  face  in  the  watering  trough. 

When  Knut,  the  herd-boy,  appeared,  the  two  little 
men  took  measure  of  one  another.  They  ap- 
proached cautiously,  and  spoke  while  still  some  dis- 
tance apart. 

"  Are  you  going  to  Lofoten  when  you  are  grown 
up?"  asked  Mis. 

"  No,  I  am  going  to  be  Prime  Minister,"  answered 
Knut. 

"  You  silly  fool !  "  Nils  sneered  and  went  away. 

Evil  days  were  in  store  for  Knut.  He  was 
pushed  aside  for  the  new  arrival.  It  was  no  use 
saying  witty  things  when  among  the  grown-up  folks 
any  more.  It  was  Nils  and  Nils  both  early  and  late. 
Nils  might  sleep  as  late  as  he  liked  in  the  morning 
and  wear  his  good  clothes  every  day. 

When  the  mistress  was  in  the  milk-house  she 
would  call  him  in,  and  when  he  came  out  again  he 
had  cream  on  his  lips.  The  master  no  longer  said : 
"  What  do  you  think  about  it,  Knut?  "  No,  it  was 


God  and  Woman  131 

Nils,  always  Nils.  It  hurt  his  feelings,  but  who 
cared  about  that  at  Dyrendal  now?  Knut  had 
fallen  so  low  that  now  he  was  only  a  herd-boy,  and  a 
herd-boy  is  not  much  more  than  a  dog. 

Once  when  he  was  chopping  wood,  Nils  came  up 
slowly : 

"  Is — is  it  fun  to  be  a  herd-boy?  " 

Knut  waited  a  long  time  before  he  replied : 

"  No,  here  the  cows  know  so  much,  they  herd 
themselves." 

"  Know  so  much  —  cows?  " 

"  Yes,  we  have  an  ox  who  can  read  in  a  book." 

"  You  are  an  ox  yourself." 

"  And  you  are  a  calf." 

"  You  take  care,  or  I'll  go  in  and  tell." 

"  You  are  a  calf — a  cream  calf." 

Nils  swallowed  and  swallowed.  That  went  home. 
He  hurried  away  with  stalwart  steps.  But  he  did 
not  go  in  and  tattle.  If  anyone  did  him  ever  so 
much  wrong,  there  was  no  woman  here  in  whose  lap 
he  had  a  desire  to  hide  his  face  and  complain. 
Later  in  the  day  the  two  boys  became  friends  for 
awhile,  and  Knut  showed  Nils  how  to  make  a  to- 
bacco pipe  of  a  thread  bobbin.  They  took  a  walk  in 
the  woods,  lay  on  their  stomachs,  and  smoked  moss 
together. 

One  day,  when  Martha  was  slicing  pork  in  the 
stabur,  Nils  came  in  sniffling,  and  asked  if  he  might 
go  home  to  see  his  mother  that  day. 

Martha  gave  a  start,  but  answered  cheerfully: 

"  My  dear,  you  must  wait  until  your  new  clothes 


132  God  and  Woman 

are  ready.  During  the  holidays  the  tailor  will 
come,  and  you  must  be  here  so  that  he  can  take  your 
measure." 

New  clothes!  The  boy's  face  brightened.  Yes, 
he  would  like  that.  And  one  day  he  walked  back 
and  forth  on  the  floor  trying  them  on.  The  pants 
had  the  new  style  pockets,  just  like  the  pockets  men 
had.  The  next  Sunday  he  was  to  wear  them  to 
church.  Mother — mother  was  pushed  aside. 

Martha  went  about,  thinking : 

"  So  you  cannot  make  him  feel  quite  happy  here. 
You  do  not  have  the  knack,  no  matter  how  much 
you  have  the  will.  And  you,  who  imagined  he 
would  begin  soon  to  call  you  mother." 

No ;  to  be  kind  to  a  strange  boy  in  such  a  way  \ 
that  he  would  like  it,  was,  after  all,  not  such  a 
simple  matter.     A  boy's  mind  is  a  difficult  fiddle  to  *) 
play  upon.     All  her  attempts  proved  wrong.     If  she  N 
petted  him  in  the  presence  of  others,  he  would  be  ' 
ashamed.     He  was  too  big  for  that.     If  she  spoke  , 
to  him  in  endearing  terms,  he  would  become  cross  / 
and  look  at  the  others.     It  was  as  if  he  called  upon  I 
them  to  bear  witness  that  he  was  no  child. 

One  day,  just  for  fun,  she  tried  to  take  him  on  her 
lap,  but  he  struck  at  her,  tore  himself  away,  and  ran 
outdoors. 

It  was  his  own  mother  he  longed  for.  Martha's 
sister  had  so  many  children,  and  yet,  even  at  a  dis- 
tance, she  pulled  and  pulled  at  Nils  so  that  his  new 
mother  at  Dyrendal  always  might  feel  that  Nils 
never  could  become  her  boy. 


God  and  Woman  133 

Every  evening  she  dreaded  what  the  next  day 
might  bring  forth.  For  what  if  he  should  come 
again  and  want  to  go  home?  If  he  should  run  away 
it  would  be  a  misfortune  both  for  her  and  for  Hans. 

He  came  in  again  with  signs  of  tears  on  his  face, 
although  it  was  clear  that  he  had  tried  to  wash 
them  away.  He  wanted  to  go  home  to  mother  right 
away,  he  sobbed.  And  as  he  stood  there  he  began 
to  cry. 

Once  more  she  coaxed  him  to  stay.  This  time  it 
was  the  shoemaker  who  was  coming  to  make  him  a 
pair  of  tall  boots.  His  chubby  face  brightened 
again,  and  he  smiled  out  of  the  right  corner  of  his 
mouth.  He  would  wait  until  the  shoemaker  had 
been  there.  He  did  want  so  much  to  have  a  pair  of 
tall  boots. 

Martha  sighed  when  she  was  alone.  She  had 
stooped  so  low  as  to  buy  the  boy,  time  and  again, 
when  he  had  no  desire  to  remain  on  her  account. 
Would  it  always  be  the  same? 

One  dark  winter  day,  when  the  snow-drifts  were 
piled  high,  the  shoemaker  had  finished  his  work. 
Mis  walked  back  and  forth  on  the  floor  and  was 
quite  a  man.  He  must  go  out  and  find  a  puddle  to 
wade  in — he  wanted  to  know  if  they  were  water- 
proof. Martha  and  Hans  sat  in  the  living-room 
and  thought :  "  Now,  at  any  rate,  he  must  feel 
thankful  to  us." 

But  when  he  came  in,  the  first  thing  he  said  was : 
"  I  wonder  what  mother  will  say  when  she  sees  how 
fine  I  am?"  The  same  day  he  again  begged  for 


134       •  God  and  Woman 

permission  to  go  home.  This  time  Hans  promised 
to  buy  him  a  watch  the  first  time  he  went  to  town. 

At  night,  when  Nils  had  been  tucked  in  and  every- 
thing was  quiet,  he  would  lie  in  bed  and  cry.  A 
strange  feeling  began  to  take  hold  of  him — he  was 
selling  his  mother,  bit  by  bit,  for  clothes  and  tall 
boots  and  a  watch,  and  in  order  to  become  heir. 
Hans  and  Martha  had  tricked  him  into  it.  He 
would  get  back  at  them  when  he  was  grown  up 
some  day. 

The  worst  of  all  was  that  the  master  and  mistress 
would  watch  him  all  day  long.  No  doubt  they 
thought  he  was  so  little  that  he  must  not  be  allowed 
out  of  their  sight  for  a  moment.  One  time  he  must 
go  with  Hans,  another  with  the  mistress,  which  was 
worse  because  she  would  always  stroke  him  and  pet 
him — huh!  But  one  day  when  Hans  had  been  to 
town  he  brought  back  a  silver  watch.  It  was  won- 
derful. It  ticked  in  his  pocket  early  and  late.  He 
could  take  it  out  and  look  at  it  and  see  what  time  it 
was,  just  like  a  grown  person.  There  was  also  a 
large  silver  chain  which  dangled  from  his  little 
vest.  He  wondered  if  he  must  give  back  the  watch 
and  chain  if  he  made  up  his  mind  to  go  home  some 
day.  He  held  the  watch  to  his  ear  and  swallowed 
the  thought  of  his  mother  which  came  as  a  catch  in 
his  throat. 

Was  it  to  be  expected  that  Knut  would  allow  that 
little  pig  to  go  about  with  an  air  of  importance, 
although  he  had  read  nothing?  It  was  not  hard  for 
the  grown-up  folks  to  see  that  the  two  boys  did  not 


God  and  Woman  135 

get  on  well  together.     Did  Mis  have  a  black  eye? 

One  day,  in  the  stable,  Hans  bent  down,  put  his 
arm  about  his  neck,  and  said : 

"  If  you  and  Knut  cannot  get  on  together,  why, 
I  suppose,  we  can  send  him  away." 

Hans  waited  for  an  answer.  Nils  had  his  tall 
boots  on.  Now  he  was  so  big  and  mighty  that  he 
could  tell  Knut  to  go  away  if  he  wanted  to.  The 
next  moment,  however,  he  did  not  care  to. 

"  No/'  he  said,  "  Knut — he  can  stay  as  long  as 
he  likes  so  far  as  I  am  concerned." 

But,  nevertheless,  he  felt  bigger  after  this.  He 
went  about  with  another  manner  and  thought — 
anyway,  Knut  would  do  well  to  take  care  now. 

One  day  Hans  let  Nils  ride  with  him  in  the  big 
sled  on  an  errand  to  the  store.  The  old  fellow 
began  to  speak  with  unwonted  kindness,  and 
beamed  with  goodness.  Nils  feared  what  might 
come.  Did  he  understand  rightly?  Hans  promised 
him  a  knife  with  a  brass  sheath  if  he  would  call 
Martha  and  him  mother  and  father. 

The  boy  blushed  and  turned  away.  It  was  im- 
possible to  get  a  word  out  of  him. 

If  he  should  allow  them  to  trick  him  into  doing 
this  also — to  call  these  strange  people  mother  and 
father,  he  would  lose  his  real  mother  for  ever.  Did 
he  wish  to  do  that? 

On  the  evening  of  this  day  he  did  not  come  in 
when  darkness  fell.  The  maids  went  out  to  call 
him.  No  one  answered.  Terror  seized  everyone. 
They  hunted  indoors  and  outdoors.  There  was 


136  God  and  Woman 

sleet  and  snow  with  a  cold  north  wind.  Martha 
and  Hans  wandered  about,  each  with  a  lantern,  call- 
ing "  Mis !  Nils !  "  The  hired  men  were  sent  to  the 
neighbours.  Knut  felt  a  strong  grip  on  his  shoul- 
der. The  master,  who  stood  before  him,  shook  him 
and  wanted  to  know  what  he  had  done  with  Nils. 
They  went  to  the  cow-stable,  the  horse-stable,  the 
granary,  and  the  hay -loft.  They  raised  their  lan- 
terns and  called  and  called.  Above  the  others  rose 
the  wailings  of  Martha:  "Nils!  Nils!"  The 
lanterns  moved  among  the  buildings — at  the  smithy, 
the  stabur,  the  wood-shed,  and  each  person  was 
telling  where  he  or  she  had  last  seen  him.  Then 
they  went  out  over  the  fields  in  the  darkness,  the 
flares  of  the  lanterns  moving  unsteadily  over  the 
snow  as  they  searched  here  and  there.  Martha 
wanted  them  to  search  in  the  well,  and  Hans  poked 
in  the  frozen  water  with  a  long  pole.  But  Nils 
was  not  to  tie  found. 

At  last  Kristian  Haug  returned  from  one  of  the 
neighbours  and  told  that  they  had  seen  the  boy  go 
by  at  dusk  and  that  he  walked  west,  in  the  direction 
of  the  fishing  village.  All  gathered  about  Kristian, 
and  Martha  held  her  lantern  up  to  his  face  to  see 
whether  he  was  telling  the  truth. 

"  Well,  I  suppose  he  went  home  then,"  said  Hans. 
All  agreed.  It  was  clear  he  had  not  met  with  an 
accident.  He  was  on  the  highway  and  perhaps  had 
been  lucky  enough  to  get  a  ride. 

"  Hitch  up  a  horse,  Kristian,"  said  Hans,  and 
walked  toward  the  house. 


God  and  Woman  137 

"  Are  you  going  now — to-night?  "  asked  Martha, 
as  she  followed  him  to  the  house,  chilled  through. 

"  Yes,  it  would  not  do  to  send  anyone  else/'  said 
Hans,  making  ready  for  the  journey. 

The  sleigh-bells  were  heard  in  the  yard,  but  soon 
grew  fainter  as  Hans  drove  away.  The  mighty 
Hans  Dyrendal  went  to  fetch  a  little  boy  who  did 
not  want  to  be  his  heir,  and  had  run  away  from  him. 

As  the  horse  trotted  along,  and  the  snow  beat 
upon  his  face,  Hans  looked  carefully  at  the  snow- 
drifts on  both  sides,  to  make  sure  that  the  little 
fellow  over  tired  had  not  gone  to  sleep  in  the  snow 
and  was  being  covered  up. 

At  the  same  time  there  ran  through  his  head  some- 
thing to  the  effect  that  he  had  lost  at  this  game. 
You  can  swing  yourself  up  in  the  world,  Hans  Lia. 
You  can  become  Hans  Dyrendal,  with  farm  all  paid 
for  and  money  at  interest,  and  a  good  reputation  in 
the  neighbourhood,  and  temperance  and  religion, 
but  to  get  a  little  boy  to  like  you,  and  live  with  you, 
and  call  you  father — that  you  cannot  do.  No,  there 
the  other  fellow  holds  the  trumps.  You  may  play 
against  him  anything  you  like.  It  is  wrong.  It  is 
all  wrong.  But  if  you  have  not  found  it  out  before 
this,  I  suppose  it  is  too  late  now. 

And  at  the  same  time  he  realized  how  much  he 
had  changed  during  the  few  weeks  he  thought  he 
had  a  son  in  the  house.  He  had  decided  to  plough 
more  ground  in  the  spring.  Dyrendal  was  large 
enough  for  Martha  and  him,  but  not  for  Mis.  He 
had  decided  to  paint  the  house  white.  When  he 


138  God  and  Woman 

went  to  the  stable  he  looked  upon  the  horses  with 
other  eyes  than  formerly.  They  were  no  longer 
merely  so  much  merchandise.  He  valued  them  not 
only  in  terms  of  money.  Now  they  were  his  domes- 
tic animals  which  should  remain  on  the  farm.  He 
would  begin  to  breed  beautiful  animals  in  order  to 
stock  up  Dyrendal.  He  felt  more  settled,  also,  in 
his  own  mind,  because  now  his  life  pointed  far  into 
the  future  through  Nils. 

But  the  boy  had  run  away.  Hans  felt  he  did  not 
have  the  courage  to  go  home  to  Martha  unless  he 
could  bring  back  the  boy. 

The  mistress  of  Dyrendal  sat  up  late  that  night. 
Finally,  she  went  to  bed,  but  she  could  not  sleep. 
She  listened  for  the  sound  of  bells,  although  it 
seemed  the  boy  must  have  had  enough  of  a  start  to 
reach  his  home  before  Hans  could  overtake  him. 

The  wind  whined  and  whistled  about  the  house. 
Martha  saw  her  sister  sitting  there  with  her  thin 
smile,  surrounded  by  her  little  ones,  and  her  sister 
seemed  to  say :     "  He  is  not  happy  with  you.     A  j 
certain  knack  is  necessary,  and  you  do  not  have  it, 
Martha.     That  is  the  reason  you  do  not  have  a  child,  v 
You  do  not  have  the  knack.     Everything  near  you  J 
freezes.     If  you  stroke  children  with  your  hand,  it 
makes  them  angry.     You  can  bribe  them  to  endure  ^ 
you  for  a  time,  but  you  can  never  in  the  world  get  J 
them  to  open  their  hearts  to  you,  or  to  come  to  you  i 
for  comfort.     You  might  as  well  give  up  the  idea  at  \ 
once.     Mis  is  happier  with  me,  no  matter  how  much 
of  goods  and  gold  you  are  able  to  offer  him." 


God  and  Woman  139 

/ 

The  wind  blew  constantly.  The  night  was  long. 
No  bells  were  heard.  If  Hans  should  come  back 
with  the  boy  she  would  not  be  able  to  control  her- 
self, but  would  throw  herself  over  him  and  press 
him  to  her  heart.  And  the  boy  would,  no  doubt,  try 
to  break  away  from  her,  perhaps  would  strike  her 
in  the  face. 

She  tossed  about  in  bed  and  folded  her  hands  and 
felt  cold  chills  down  her  back.  It  was  more  than 
her  body  that  froze.  It  is  of  no  use,  Martha.  You 
might  as  well  become  hard  as  ice.  The  One  above 
has  decided  it  shall  be  so.  He  has  condemned  you 
to  live  your  life  in  the  cold. 

Mis  got  so  far  along  on  his  way  before  dark  that 
he  began  to  recognise  the  houses  along  the  road. 
He  was  afraid  someone  would  follow  him,  so  he  ran 
and  panted  and  hurried  on.  But,  as  he  came  near 
home,  he  began  to  fear,  also,  that  he  had  done  some- 
thing foolish.  At  last  he  saw  a  light  from  his 
mother's  house.  He  hiccoughed  and  hurried  on. 
Everyone  in  the  house  became  excited  when  he  came 
stumbling  in.  His  mother  took  his  hand  and  talked 
about  so  many  things,  but  when  she  sat  down  upon 
a  chair,  he  threw  himself  into  her  lap  and  began 
to  cry. 

At  last  he  must  tell  that  he  had  run  away. 

Both  his  mother  and  his  brothers  and  sisters  had 
got  into  the  habit  of  thinking  of  him  as  the  rich  heir 
to  Dyrendal.  Now,  perhaps,  he  had  wrecked  every- 
thing. As  Nils  sat  and  looked  at  the  others  he 


140  God  and  Woman 

began  to  see  that  they  were  not  well  pleased — and 
he,  poor  fellow,  had  thought  they  would  be  so  very 
glad  to  see  him  if  he  would  only  come  home. 

As  he  sat  at  the  table,  eating,  sleigh-bells  were 
heard  outside.  Again  everyone  became  excited. 
They  knew  who  it  was.  There  was  not  time  for 
Nils  to  run  and  hide  before  Hans  Dyrendal  entered 
the  room  with  snow  in  his  beard  and  on  his  coat. 

"  Have  you  seen  my  overseer  anywhere  about?  " 
he  said  merrily,  when  he  saw  the  boy  was  at  the 
table,  safe  and  sound,  but  with  pale  face. 

Hans  did  not  speak  of  returning  immediately. 
He  wanted  the  boy  to  be  left  alone  for  awhile.  Nils 
wondered  that  Hans  should  be  so  kind  to  him,  but 
the  next  day  his  mother  and  brothers  and  sisters  let 
him  know  that  he  must  at  least  go  back  and  ask 
forgiveness  of  auntie  after  frightening  everyone  so 
dreadfully. 

The  snow-storm  continued  throughout  the  next 
night,  and  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal  must  remain 
alone. 

When,  on  the  third  day,  she  saw  Hans  and  the 
boy  come  driving  up  to  the  house,  she  realized  that 
now  things  could  not  be  as  they  had  been  before. 
She  did  not  want  to  have  the  same  experience  a. 
second  time.  If  he  wanted  to  settle  down  there,  he* 
would  be  welcome.  If  he  wanted  to  go  away,  why, 
then,  in  God's  name,  he  would  be  just  as  welcome  to 
do  that. 

It  did  not  matter  so  much  any  more.     There 


God  and  Woman  141 

would  have  to  be  a  limit  to  this  begging,  and  humil- 
iating oneself. 

"  So  you  have  made  a  visit  to  your  mother,  Nils," 
she  said,  and  tried  to  smile,  as  the  boy  came  stamp- 
ing in. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  III 

AT  this  time  great  political  storms  swept  over  the 
land,  and  speakers  went  from  the  cities  even  to  the 
outlying  country  districts.  They  thundered  and 
threatened  every  misfortune  if  the  farmers  should 
vote  for  the  other  side. 

The  men  sat  in  their  homespun  and  listened  at- 
tentively. The  following  Sunday,  when  they  knew 
no  man  of  importance  was  present,  they  formed  into 
groups  near  the  church,  and  began  to  discuss  pol- 
itics— they  too.  They  read  the  papers  now,  and 
had  heard  so  many  speakers  that  they  knew  the 
catchwords.  They  shook  their  fists  in  one  another's 
faces,  and  each  swore  that  the  other  was  a  fool. 
Thin  voices  and  coarse  voices  tried  to  drown  out 
one  another. 

When  the  big  master  from  Dyrendal  arrived,  he 
stood  on  the  fringe  of  one  group  and  listened  with  a 
very  sober  face.  Then  he  whispered  something  to 
one  of  the  men  that  made  all  of  them  laugh.  They 
knew  he  was  a  conservative,  but  no  one  took  it 
seriously,  because  the  next  moment  he  raised  his 
chest  and  went  over  to  the  radical  group,  where  the 
schoolmaster  was  speaking  about  freedom  and 
fatherland.  All  at  once  Hans  again  whispered  to 
one  of  the  men,  so  that  all  could  hear: 

142 


God  and  Woman  143 

"  Ask  that  fellow  if  his  mother  is  as  dirty  as  she 
used  to  be?  "  All  began  to  laugh.  As  Hans  went 
to  another  group  all  eyes  were  upon  him.  But  the 
schoolmaster  remembered  what  Hans  had  said  the 
last  time  he  wrote  an  article  for  the  paper  on  the 
tactics  of  the  conservatives  in  this  neighbourhood. 

If  a  list  of  voters  belonging  to  the  opposition  sud- 
denly disappeared  just  as  it  was  wanted,  or  if 
ballots,  sent  by  a  boy  to  some  out-of-the-way  place, 
were  not  delivered,  folks  would  shake  their  heads 
and  say :  "  There  is  only  one  man  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood who  could  have  done  this." 

It  was  this  desire  to  toss  up  his  neighbour  in  a 
blanket,  figuratively  speaking,  that  Hans  had  not 
quite  overcome.  As  the  election  approached  and 
became  more  interesting,  however,  Hans  seemed  to 
be  just  the  one  to  go  about  and  talk  people  into 
voting  for  the  right  side;  because  this  work  was 
very  much  like  trying  to  convince  a  sensible  man 
that  a  worn-out  old  nag  was  a  prince  of  England. 

It  happened  also  that  prayer  meetings  were  held 
at  Dyrendal.  The  house  would  be  full  of  women  in 
large  shawls  and  men  in  damp  homespun.  On  the 
bench  beside  the  speaker  would  be  the  best  people  of 
the  community,  and  chief  among  them,  Hans  him- 
self, bearded,  bald,  pious. 

When  a  hymn  was  sung,  or  when  the  speaker 
spoke  about  sin  and  grace,  Hans  would  commune 
with  his  own  secret  thoughts.  He  remembered  the 
time  when  he  wandered  over  the  land  and  traded 
and  practised  small  deceits,  and  drank  a  glass,  and 


144  God  and  Woman 

sometimes  thrashed  a  fellow  he  did  not  like.  It 
was  too  bad  the  Lord  was  so  much  against  all  this. 
Why,  in  the  days  of  the  former  master  of  Dyrendal, 
in  this  very  room,  handsome  young  men  had  put 
their  arms  about  the  waists  of  beautiful  young  girls, 
and  danced  and  sung  merry  songs.  It  was  no  dis- 
grace for  them  to  be  gay  and  jolly.  It  is  strange 
about  this  thing — culture.  If  he  had  only  learned 
more  he  wouldn't  have  to  sit  here  now  and  make  an 
effort  to  behave  well.  Folks  would  allow  him  to 
click  his  heels  together  and  kick  as  high  as  the  ceil- 
ing once  in  a  while.  But,  for  all  that,  they  had 
voted  for  him  in  the  last  election. 

While  the  women  sniffled  and  wept  over  their 
sins,  there  was  one  among  them  who  sat  erect  and 
held  her  head  high.  It  was  the  mistress  herself. 
It  was  Martha.  She  had  nothing  to  repent  of.  She 
looked  upon  these  girls,  who,  perhaps,  got  the  one 
they  wanted,  and  upon  these  women,  surrounded  by 
children,  and  she  thought  it  might  do  them  good  to 
hear  that  they  were  big  sinners,  and  that  there 
would  be  a  judgment  day.  It  might  do  them  good 
to  hear  about  it. 

The  master  and  mistress  of  Dyrendal  gave  people 
plenty  to  gossip  about.  One  day  a  poor  woman 
might  come  and  ask  for  a  drop  of  milk.  And 
Martha  would  invite  her  in  and  give  her  coffee,  and 
would  say,  "  Oh,  there  is  no  charge  for  the  milk." 
But  the  next  time  the  poor  woman  would  come,  the 
mistress  would  go  about  pale  and  cold  as  ice,  and 


God  and  Woman  145 

would  show  the  poor  creature  the  door,  so  that  she 
would  not  dare  to  show  herself  for  a  long  time. 

A  cottager's  boy  had  built  a  little  cottage  and 
cleared  a  bit  of  ground  on  a  hill-side.  On  the  day 
of  his  wedding  he  received  a  fresh  cow  as  a  gift  from 
Dyrendal.  Such  things  did  not  happen  in  the  days 
of  the  colonel.  And,  one  day,  Martha  stood  god- 
mother to  a  child  at  a  neighbour's  house,  and  made 
the  child  a  gift  of  fifty  dollars. 

Oh,  yes,  there  was  plenty  for  people  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood to  gossip  about.  They  might  talk  behind 
the  backs  of  the  folks  at  Dyrendal,  and  both  were 
suspected  of  a  little  of  everything,  but  when  they 
came  driving  to  church,  she  in  her  black  silk  and  he 
big  and  mighty,  folks  stepped  aside  respectfully, 
and  some  would  take  off  their  hats. 

It  soon  became  the  fashion  that  Martha  should  be 
the  first  lady  at  large  weddings,  and  that  she  should 
act  as  hostess  in  order  that  everything  might  be 
done  properly  and  according  to  the  best  usage. 
And  the  basket  of  food  she  would  bring  from  home ! 
Why — it  was  almost  enough  for  a  wedding  by  itself ! 

But  there  must  be  evil-minded  people  or  political 
enemies,  because  rumours  began  to  spread  which 
were  beyond  belief.  She,  who  was  so  rich  and  pow- 
erful— she — no,  never  in  the  world!  But  the  ru- 
mour would  not  die.  When  she  had  been  in  a  house 
one  thing  or  another  was  missed — a  silver  spoon,  a 
fork,  sometimes  even  money.  To  be  sure  there  were 
others  who  were  suspected  at  first,  but,  in  the  end, 
all  the  evidence  pointed  to  the  first  lady — to 


146  God  and  Woman 


Martha.  Of  course,  it  could  not  have  been  Martha. 
Evil-minded  people  find  so  much  to  talk  about. 

Time  passed.  Nils  had  settled  down  at  Dyren- 
dal, but  all  understood  that  he  went  about  moping 
and  longing  for  home,  although  he  no  longer  said 
anything  about  it.  And  he  soon  found  that  he  was 
no  longer  the  chief  person,  at  least  not  in  the  eyes  of 
the  master.  Now  it  was  politics,  elections,  news- 
papers. Nils  was  seldom  on  good  terms  with  Knut. 
He  was  mostly  alone.  Those  grown-up  thoughts, 
also,  about  being  the  heir,  he  felt,  it  would  be  best  to 
keep  to  himself.  All  that  he  saw  about  him  at 
Dyrendal  in  reality  belonged  to  him.  He  must  only 
remain  there,  behave  well,  and  wait  until  he  was 
grown  up.  At  the  same  time,  he  did  not  forget  who 
it  was  that  had  lured  him  away  from  his  mother. 
If  he  spoke  to  one  of  them  it  was  "  Martha "  or 
"  Hans."  No  one  could  trick  him  into  calling  them 
anything  else. 

Nils  had  been  at  Dyrendal  more  than  a  year. 
Christmas  was  approaching,  and  the  ice  on  the  lake 
was  hard  and  smooth.  Just  before  dusk  it  swarmed 
with  children  and  young  people,  who  drifted  hither 
and  thither  on  skates,  pulling  down  their  caps  to 
protect  their  ears  against  the  cold,  and  shouting. 
During  these  days  before  the  holidays  the  north 
wind  roared  night  and  day.  Heavy,  dark  clouds 
rolled  in  from  the  sea,  which  were  mirrored  in  the 
clear,  smooth  ice,  so  that  it  seemed  as  if  the  skaters 
skimmed  over  clouds  of  darkness  and  fire.  If  a 
person  worked  his  way  up  against  the  wind,  he 


God  and  Woman  147 

could  turn  and  stretch  out  his  coat  and  sail.  Hey 
ho — how  the  girls  and  boys  shot  by  one  another, 
very  much  like  a  flock  of  birds  flying!  The  men 
from  the  hill  country  one  day  brought  a  large  sled 
upon  which  they  had  rigged  up  a  square  sail.  It 
became  a  ship  full  of  wriggling  bodies  and  kicking 
legs,  which  sailed  up  and  down  on  the  shining  ice 
in  the  wind,  followed  by  a  swarm  of  skaters,  some 
of  whom  skated  backwards  or  wrote  their  names 
in  the  ice  standing  upon  one  foot,  and,  in  the  midst 
of  the  crowd,  a  tall,  sedate  man,  who  made  long, 
powerful  strokes  here  and  there,  but  who  looked 
upon  himself  as  being  above  taking  part  in  the 
sports  of  the  crowd. 

Knut  had  a  friend  who  lived  on  one  of  the  farms 
across  the  lake.  Pauline  Lund  was  her  name. 
They  met  here,  and  he  would  push  her  ahead  of  him 
on  the  ice.  On  Sundays  she  sat  with  the  choir,  in 
her  blue  dress,  and  she  had  a  wonderful  voice. 

One  evening  a  flock  of  half-grown  young  people 
had  gathered  behind  a  point  of  land.  Andreas,  the 
sacristan's  son,  was  the  leader. 

"  What  shall  we  arrange  for  Christmas?  "  he  said. 

"  Yes,  we  ought  to  do  something  really  fine  this 
year,"  several  spoke  up  eagerly.  The  girls  thrust 
forward  their  red  cheeks  excitedly,  while  more  and 
more  skaters  joined  the  company. 

The  sacristan's  boy  saw  that  they  were  all  school- 
mates and  belonged  to  the  best  families,  so  he  in- 
vited them  to  come  to  his  house  the  third  day  after 
Christmas. 


148  God  and  Woman 

"  Then  you  must  come  to  my  house  the  fourth  day 
after  Christmas,"  said  Per  Sund. 

"And  the  fifth  day  to  my  house,"  said  Gabriel 
Flyta. 

On  the  edge  of  the  crowd  there  were  two  who  were 
very  careful  not  to  invite  anyone  to  their  house. 
They  were  Knut  and  Nils  from  Dyrendal.  And  as 
they  skated  home  along  the  shore,  they  were  not 
quite  sure  they  had  been  invited  by  the  others. 

"  You  are  only  a  herd-boy,"  said  Nils,  "  so  they 
did  not  mean  you." 

"  And  you  are  only  a  dirty  beggar-boy,  so  no  one 
had  you  in  mind." 

They  worked  their  way  in  the  dusk  over  the  frosty 
hills,  from  which  the  snow  had  been  swept  by  the 
wind.  Before  them  lay  the  large  house,  with  its 
long  row  of  windows  that  reflected  the  yellow  and 
stormy  sunset  sky  in  the  west. 

"  I  wonder  if  we  dare  invite  anyone?  "  said  Knut, 
and  stopped. 

"  I  wonder,"  Nils  smiled  out  of  the  right  corner 
of  his  mouth,  and  his  red,  chubby  face  shone  as  he 
turned  toward  the  dim  light  of  the  setting  sun. 

"  We  must  get  permission  from  the  master  and 
mistress  first,"  said  Knut. 

"  Yes,  you  ask  them." 

"  No,  that  you  must  do.  You  are  the  son,  you 
know." 

"  No,  you  know  better  how  to  use  your  tongue." 

They  trudged  on.  Both  felt  that  the  great  lady 
of  Dyrendal  was  not  one  they  cared  to  go  to  about 


God  and  Woman  149 

anything  of  that  sort.  If  she  were  in  the  right 
mood,  she  might  say,  yes.  But  they  had  not  the 
courage  to  ask  her.  They  would  not  care  to  be 
known  as  her  boys.  They  looked  toward  the  large 
house,  in  which  lights  were  now  burning,  and  both 
felt  that  other  boys  had  a  better  time  of  it  than 
they.  Dyrendal  was  not  their  home.  The  master 
and  mistress  of  Dyrendal  were  not  their  parents, 
and  therefore  Christmas  could  not  mean  the  same 
to  them  as  it  did  to  other  boys  and  girls  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. 

Mis  decided  he  must  take  comfort  in  the  fact 
that,  anyway,  he  was  the  heir.  But  it  was  so  long 
to  wait  until  he  was  grown  up. 

"  Must  you  go  to  the  cow-stable  to-night  again?  " 
said  Hans  to  Martha.  "  It  does  not  seem  to  be  of 
much  use  to  have  a  hired  milkmaid?  " 

"  Oh,  the  milkmaid  is  busy  with  other  things," 
she  answered.  She  put  on  the  worst  clothes  she 
could  find,  lit  a  lantern,  spread  a  fold  of  her  dress 
around  the  lantern  to  protect  it  against  the  storm, 
and  set  out  into  the  darkness.  A  flickering  light 
indicated  her  movements  on  the  path,  over  which 
snow  had  been  blown  into  drifts,  and  Knut  fol- 
lowed, carrying  pails.  The  door  to  the  cow-stable 
is  hard  to  open,  but  once  inside  one  is  met  with 
peace  and  warmth.  The  sheep  and  the  cows  speak 
their  greeting.  The  pigs  climb  up  on  the  side  of 
the  pen  and  grunt.  Over  the  whole  there  is  an  air 
of  welcome. 

No,  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal  is  not  compelled  to 


150  God  and  Woman 

do  the  milking,  but  if  she  enjoys  being  with  her 

animals,  why In  here  there  is  peace.  There 

are  two  long  rows  of  cows  with  their  heads  toward 
one  another  and  'a  passage-way  between  them. 
While  Martha  places  hay  before  the  cows,  Knut 
cleans  the  stable  preparatory  to  milking.  There  is 
meal  to  be  prepared  for  the  calves  and  the  pigs,  and 
leaves  to  be  brought  for  the  sheep.  When  each  one 
has  been  fed  there  is  a  sound  of  peaceful  swallowing 
and  chewing  throughout  the  entire  stable.  Martha 
sits  down  to  milk.  She  rests  her  forehead  against 
the  warm  side  of  the  cow,  and  the  stream  of  milk 
plays  a  tune  of  tip,  tap  on  the  bottom  of  the  bucket 
as  in  former  days. 

The  door  flies  open,  and  the  storm  rushes  in,  but 
it  is  only  the  milkmaid  who  comes  in  to  milk  on  the 
other  side,  and  the  storm  is  soon  shut  out  again. 

Then  again  there  is  peace,  whilst  the  northwest 
wind  wails  outside  in  the  winter  night.  Martha 
enjoys  peace  of  mind.  She  closes  her  eyes  and 
croons.  All  these  living  beings  that  receive  their 
food  from  her  hands  have  become  as  a  part  of  her- 
self. Their  peace  becomes  her  peace.  Perhaps 
these  animals  stand  there  and  dream  about  the  free 
life  of  the  pasture  during  the  long,  bright  summer. 
Or  perhaps  they  have  faint  recollections  of  the  time, 
long  ago,  when  their  forefathers  roamed  about  on 
endless  stretches  of  plain  in  strange  lands  far  away. 

Knut  would  stand  near  by  and  chatter.  Lately 
he  had  read  a  great  deal  about  politics,  and  he  had 
come  to  believe  that  a  plain  cottager's  boy  might 


God  and  Woman  151 

work  his  way  up  and  become  a  great  man,  even  if  he 
could  not  go  to  war.  He  had  thought  he  would 
study  and  become  a  popular  speaker,  because  then 
he  could  scare  an  opponent  out  of  his  wits,  even  if 
he  did  not  strike  him  dead,  and  so,  in  a  way,  win  vic- 
tories and  become  a  conquering  hero. 

Knut  had  finished  his  work  and  moved  carefully 
over  the  slippery  floor.  He  raised  the  lantern 
above  the  pens,  in  which  red  calves  lay  on  beds  of 
straw  and  chewed  their  cuds.  He  gave  them  his 
hand  to  suck,  and  spoke  to  them  as  if  they  were  good 
friends. 

"  Well,"  said  the  mistress,  as  she  sat  milking  in 
the  dark,  "  if  you  become  a  big  man  some  day  and 
make  a  speech  in  the  village,  I  promise  to  go  there 
and  to  sit  upon  the  front  seat.  Then  we  shall  see 
if  your  head  has  been  turned  so  that  you  will  not 
remember  me." 

Christmas  had  come  and  gone.  Parliament  met 
somewhere  far  away  in  a  city  that  was  called  Kris- 
tiania.  That  made  the  papers  more  interesting. 
Knut  must  now  skate  across  the  lake  each  evening 
and  bring  home  the  mail  for  the  master  of  Dyrendal. 

When  the  lamp  was  lit  and  the  papers  were 
spread  out  upon  the  long  brown  table  in  the  living- 
room,  then  it  was  that  the  entire  household  was 
changed  into  a  parliament. 

Oh,  these  newspapers,  which  came  to  the  out-of- 
the-way  districts  far  in  along  the  shore  of  some  dark 
fjord,  where  all  thoughts  until  now  have  been  taken 
up  with  food  and  marriage  and  a  shilling  to  be 


152  God  and  Woman 

earned ;  besides,  of  course,  prayer  meetings  and  the 
fear  of  hell — these  newspapers  bring  a  fresher  air 
into  the  mind  and  kindle  new  interests.  They  tell 
of  happenings  far  away  that  give  a  new  idea  of  the 
world.  They  give  the  picture  of  a  man  who  did  a 
great  deal  of  good  although  he  did  not  preach  the 
Word  of  God.  Then  they  tell  about  something  that 
is  called  "  tariff,"  and  "  finance,"  and  "  science," 
and  "  art."  Then  there  is  a  funny  story  that  really 
makes  one  laugh.  And,  besides,  there  is  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  customs  of  different  kinds.  All  these 
things  bring  many  new  words  one  never  heard  of 
before,  and  make  it  necessary  to  have  ideas  about 
things  one  never  even  dreamed  existed. 

There  sits  the  master  himself,  at  the  head  of  the 
table,  with  spectacles,  reading  reports  of  the  doings 
of  Parliament,  and,  great  heavens,  how  these  speak- 
ers must  be  able  to  understand  everything  imagin- 
able !  They  talk  about  things  so  difficult  that  the 
mere  name  is  enough  to  strike  an  ox  dead.  "  Con- 
stitutional Amendment  "  is  bad  enough  for  a  mouth 
in  which  there  is  a  juicy  quid  of  tobacco.  But  what 
do  you  think  of  "  Disqualification  Procedure  "  ? 
All  these  things  a  person  must  know  about  if  he 
wants  to  go  to  Parliament;  so,  in  the  end,  one  can- 
not get  along  with  only  what  everybody  under- 
stands— namely,  economy  and  the  Word  of  God. 

Martha  is  reading  the  temperance  paper.  The 
two  maids  near  the  fire-place  are  making  their  spin-* 
ning-wheels  hum.  Mis  is  trying  to  make  out  the 
announcements  in  the  local  paper,  and  Knut  is 


God  and  Woman  153 

devouring  a  continued  story  about  love.  Lars 
Hafella  is  nodding  over  his  pipe,  and  Kristian  Haug 
is  sitting  near  the  north  wall,  with  his  back  turned, 
mending  a  shoe. 

"  Great  heavens !  "  said  the  master  aloud — and  all 
heads  were  raised :  "  Here  the  Parliament  gives  a 
pension  to  a  captain  who  is  rich  as  Croesus !  " 

"  I  suppose  they  depend  on  men  like  you  to  pay 
taxes  and  pay  taxes  until  you  stand  there  without  a* 
shirt  to  your  back,"  said  Martha,  looking  up  from 
her  paper. 

"  Mr.  President !  "  said  Knut,  and  rose.  Every- 
one gave  a  start,  then  burst  out  laughing.  Even 
Martha  laughed  so  violently  that  her  paper  fell  to 
the  floor. 

Knut  made  a  speech  in  defence  of  pensions,  and 
said  exactly  the  same  things  that  were  said  in  the 
Parliament  by  those  who  defended  the  practice. 

"  Mr.  President !  "  said  Hans,  looking  around 
over  his  spectacles  and  continuing  the  joke.  He 
maintained  that  expenses  should  be  cut  down,  so 
that  the  taxes  would  not  become  too  much  for  the 
people  to  bear. 

It  became  almost  a  speech.  He  was  training  him- 
self to  express  his  opinion  about  new  and  difficult 
things. 

"  Mr.  President !  "  said  Martha  abruptly.  This 
made  a  stir.  It  was  not  often  the  great  lady  took 
part  in  a  joke.  She  raised  her  eyebrows  and  said 
sarcastically :  "  I  wonder  how  many  of  the  great 
men  in  this  Parliament  would  like  to  clean  out  the 


154  God  and  Woman 

cow-stable  for  me."  Then  she  smiled  and  looked 
about  for  approval. 

"  The  representative  from  the  southern  counties 
ought  to  stick  to  the  subject,"  said  Knut,  and  as  it 
sounded  exactly  as  in  Parliament,  everyone  must 
laugh  again. 

To  the  surprise  of  everyone,  Jonetta  stopped  her 
spinning-wheel  and  said :  "  Mr.  President !  " 

"  The  Lord  help  us,  now  the  women  folks  are 
beginning,"  said  Kristian  Haug,  turning  his  blind 
eye  toward  the  lamp. 

All  eyes  were  upon  the  blonde  girl  with  the  rosy 
cheeks. 

"  I  propose  a  pension  for  those  who  have  only  one 
eye,"  she  said,  and  began  to  spin  again. 

This  time  Nils  was  the  only  one  who  smiled. 
Kristian  Haug  bent  down  over  his  work,  and  Hans 
said :  "  That  is  what  you  got  for  throwing  your 
sweetheart  down  from  the  attic  last  Sunday  night, 
Kristian." 

Bang  went  the  storm-door ;  someone  stamped  the 
snow  off  his  feet;  and  in  came  the  white-bearded 
schoolmaster.  He  had  read  the  papers  and  thought 
he  would  step  in  for  a  chat.  Could  it  be  possible 
that  the  liberals  really  wanted  to  dethrone  the 
King? 

On  stormy  winter  nights  it  sometimes  happened 
that  Martha  could  not  go  to  sleep.  She  thought 
about  Nils. 

He  grew  and  became  more  plump  and  red- 
cheeked,  but  it  was  always  another  woman  that 


God  and  Woman  155 

filled  his  mind.  She  herself  would  never  become 
anything  more  than  just  one  to  be  endured.  She 
might  be  as  good  to  him  as  she  pleased. 

Often  when  she  looked  into  the  future  she  would   < 
literally  grow  cold.     What  if  she  were  condemned    i 
to  bring  up  this  boy,  and  then,  some  fine  day,  he 
should  bring  misfortune  upon  both  her  and  Hans?    * 
Sometimes  when  she  looked  at  him  she  would  be-  / 
come  frightened — the  son,  the  heir,  their  comfort  in?  i 
old  age !     That  is  the  difference  between  having  an  ) 
adopted  son  and  one  who  is  really  one's  own. 

Some  day  he  might  begin  to  wait  impatiently 
for  them  to  die,  as  a  bird  of  prey  waits  for  its  victim  '_ 
to  fall.     Such  he   might  become.     Was  she  con-  J 
demned  to  bring  up  a  bird  of  prey — and  to  be  to  him  ! 
as  a  mother?     Was  it  possible?     Why — the  One  I 
above  who  rules  over  everything  could  not  place  a 
more  terrible  curse  upon  a  woman.     But  in  that 
case  there  would  be  an  accounting  between  Him  up 
there  and  her. 

It  was  thoughts  like  these  that  lately  had  made 
her  so  gloomy  and  hard  that  she  often  felt  like 
clenching  her  fists  in  the  very  face  of  heaven  itself. 

It  happened  sometimes  on  a  stormy  night  that  she 
would  steal  out  of  bed,  dress  warmly,  and  go  out 
into  the  darkness.  It  eased  her  mind  to  be  out  in 
a  storm.  One  may  perhaps  recognise  oneself  in  a 
storm,  in  which  yellow,  black,  and  bloody  masses  of 
cloud  rush  along  and  end  in  an  angry  whirlwind. 

It  is  a  relief  to  be  out  in  such  weather.  She 
stops,  looks  about,  and  walks  again.  Everything  is 


156  God  and  Woman 

asleep.  She  alone  wanders  about,  aimlessly.  Now 
and  then  her  face  is  lit  up  dimly  as  she  raises  her 
eyes  in  order  to  look  toward  the  sky. 

There  is  a  picture-book  up  there  that  interprets 
powers  within  yourself,  which  can  neither  speak 
nor  think,  but  which  tumble  about  in  your  mind. 
There — up  there  you  see  them  again.  There — in 
the  bloody  storm-clouds  in  the  sky  to-night. 

Her  shawl  and  dress  nutter  in  the  wind.     She 
stops,  and  walks  on — stops  and  walks  on.     Every- 
thing is  changed  when  one  walks  alone  on  such  a 
night.    Even   if   you   had   married  the   one   you 
wanted,  you  would  still  be  an  old  woman  now. 
Even  if  you  had  sons  and  daughters,  you  would  still 
have  to  die  some  day.     Even  if  you  succeed  in  mak- 
ing your  husband  a  member  of  Parliament,  so  that  ( 
he  rises  as  high  in  the  world  as  the  forester  at  Myr, ' 
he  is  and  always  will  be  a  fool. 

The  scores  to  be  settled  with  Him  up  there  be-  / 
hind  the  storm  are  big.     One  cannot  put  up  with  j 
everything  and  always  be  humble.    We  have  stood 
in  the  presence  of  great  ones  before.     There  might 
rise  up  in  the  heart  a  desire  to  sin — to  steal,  to  lie,  / 
to  curse,  to  cheat,  to  commit  a  big  sin,  the  sound  { 
of  which  will  be  heard  in  all  the  heavens. 

When  the  folks  at  Dyrendal  rise  in  the  morning, 
the  mistress  is  asleep  in  her  bed  as  usual.     No  one 
suspects  that  she  was  out  during  the  night  and  held  • 
converse  with  the  storm.     But  if  a  poor  old  woman  \ 
should  come  on  such  a  day  and  ask  for  milk,  the  j 
mistress  of  Dyrendal  would  show  her  the  door. 

I 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  IV 

A  LITTLE  girl  with  her  finger  in  her  mouth  stood  on 
the  doorstep  at  Dyrendal.  When  Kristian  Hang 
passed  she  said  she  would  like  very  much  to  speak 
with  her  brother,  Knut. 

It  was  Gunhild.  She  had  her  grandmother's  grey 
shawl  over  her  head.  The  ends  wTere  crossed  on 
her  breast  and  tied  in  a  large  knot  on  her  back. 
She  looked  old  for  her  size.  When  her  brother 
came  at  last,  her  little  pale  face  became  solemn  and 
commanding. 

"  I  came  to  say  for  grandmother  that  if  you  have 
forgotten  us,  we  have  not  forgotten  you." 

"  I  wish  you  would  tell  grandmother  that  we  have 
been  very  busy  here,"  said  Knut.  "  But  now,  dur- 
ing the  holidays  I  have  been  thinking  of  making  a 
trip  home." 

When  Knut  had  gone  the  girl  waited  for  a  mo- 
ment on  the  door-step.  She  thought  someone  might 
invite  her  in  and  offer  her  cake  and  coffee.  But  the 
door  of  the  great  house  remained  closed,  so  she 
trudged  home  again. 

The  next  Sunday  morning  Knut  took  the  road 
which  skirted  the  hills.  He  walked  slowly  and 
whistled.  Although,  of  course,  it  was  always  a 
wonderful  thing  to  go  home,  he  felt  that  now  he 

157 


158  God  and  Woman 

belonged  to  the  great  world.  He  felt  he  had  out- 
grown the  narrow  life  in  the  little  fisherman's  cot- 
tage where  all  thoughts  and  cares  centred  about 
food  to-day  and  death  and  salvation  to-morrow. 
Whenever  he  went  there  he  felt  that  he  was 
going  backward,  down  to  childhood  and  ignorance 
again.  And  yet  his  grandmother  was  there,  and 
his  brothers  and  sisters  were  there,  and  if  there  was 
anyone  in  the  world  he  cared  for,  it  was  his  grand- 
mother and  his  brothers  and  sisters. 

Knut  was  in  the  confirmation  school  and  was 
fifteen  years  old.     It  seemed  to  him  the  world  was 
becoming  colder  and  harder  each  day.     It  is  easy 
enough,  as  long  as  you  are  little,  to  put  on  airs  and 
boast  of  what  you  intend  to  become  when  you  grow  \ 
up  some  day.     You  chop  wood  or  you  clean  the' 
stable,  and  at  the  same  time  your  head  is  full  of  the 
French  Kevolution,  or  the  people  on  Mars — that  is 
easy  enough.     But  when  you  wake  up  from  your* 
dreams,  begotten  of  books,  and  the  first  thing  you  / 
see  is  the  patches  on  your  pants — what  then? 

Knut  whistled  and  walked  and  walked  and 
whistled.  Of  course,  there  must  be  some  way  out ! 
He  pulled  his  hat  down  on  one  side  and  began  to 
sing.  A  way  must  be  found,  a  way  must  be  found,  , 
tra-la!  There,  on  the  shore  of  the  fjord,  are  two 
tiny  cottages  in  which  poor  men  live.  There  are 
boats  on  the  beach.  Fishing-nets  have  been  hung 
up  to  dry.  Although  it  is  June,  the  west  wind  is 
whipping  up  the  fjord,  making  it  dark,  with  here 
and  there  white  combers. 


God  and  Woman  159 

A  little  of  the  arrogance  of  Dyrendal  clung  to  him 
as  he  entered  and  said  good  day.  The  grandmother 
rocked  the  cradle.  She  bade  him  good  day,  and 
asked  him  to  sit  down.  His  small  brothers  and 
sisters  flew  to  him,  all  speaking  together,  and  asked 
why  he  did  not  bring  a  horse  so  that  they  might 
drive. 

It  happened,  as  it  always  did,  when  at  last  he  sat 
there,  that  he  inhaled  the  peculiar,  dear  fragrance 
of  home.  It  was  the  twigs  of  juniper  on  the  floor, 
the  brush  of  heather  behind  the  stove,  the  odour 
of  fur  coverlets,  of  clothes,  of  children,  of  coffee. 
And  the  clock  on  the  wall,  decorated  with  painted 
flowers,  the  old  tiled  stove  with  the  crocodile  on  it, 
the  cracked  timber  walls — oh,  all  was  familiar,  and 
all  brought  back  memories  of  his  childhood. 

If  only  it  had  not  been  the  red-haired  stepmother 
who  now  came  in,  her  face  wet. 

"  Is  that  you,  Knut,  out  for  a  walk  to-day?  "  she 
said,  drying  her  face  with  the  towel  which  hung 
near  the  stove. 

Knut  saw  that  she  would  soon  have  another  little 
one.  He  thought  of  his  father,  and  felt  miserable 
and  dreadfully  ashamed. 

Just  then  the  father  came  in,  in  his  shirt-sleeves 
and  with  his  vest  unbuttoned,  broad-shouldered, 
bearded,  heavy.  His  light-brown  hair  was  curly 
and  attractive. 

"  Good  day,"  he  said.  "  Are  you  out  for  a 
walk?  "  He  walked  heavily  in  his  slippers  to  the 
bench  before  the  long  table  and  sat  down,  but  he 


160  God  and  Woman 

could  not  find  much  to  say,  for  he  felt  it  was  not 
on  his  account  the  boy  had  come. 

Gunhild  poked  her  yellow  head  with  braided  hair 
in  through  the  kitchen  door,  and  asked  Knut  to 
come  out  there.  A  moment  later  she  rapped  on  the 
window  for  the  three  youngest  to  come  also.  The 
father  sat  soberly  on  the  bench  at  the  table  and  bit 
his  nails.  He  saw  through  the  window  that  his  five 
children  sought  refuge  in  the  barn.  Now  Knut 
would  teach  them  to  despise  their  father,  as  he  did. 

Knut  sat  upon  the  barn  floor  surrounded  by  his 
four  brothers  and  sisters.  They  looked  upon  him 
as  a  saviour.  Several  times  each  week  Gunhild  had 
told  them  that  some  day,  when  Knut  was  grown  up, 
he  would  help  them  all  to  get  away,  and  they  would 
not  have  to  live  with  their  stepmother  any  more. 

Then  they  began  to  speak  about  their  mother. 
They  remembered  something  new  about  her  each 
time,  both  when  she  walked  about  and  was  well,  and 
when  she  became  sick  and  could  not  get  up  any 
more. 

To-day  the  youngest  brother  remembered  some- 
thing. It  was  when  he  was  carried  outdoors  and 
lay  under  a  tree  upon  a  fur  coverlet  and  smiled, 
while  the  others  played  and  had  a  good  time  near 
by. 

"  Don't  you  want  to  come  to  see  me,  too?  "  said 
the  grandmother,  when  the  children  came  in. 

The  father  still  sat  on  the  bench.  He  saw  his 
mother  and  his  eldest  son  go  into  the  bedroom  and 


God  and  Woman  161 

shut  the  door,  and  he  knew  they  would  whisper  to 
one  another  about  him. 

He  began  to  rock  the  cradle  in  which  lay  his 
youngest  child,  the  child  of  his  second  wife.  He 
sighed,  and  thought :  "  There  is  much  in  the  world 
that  is  heavy  to  bear." 

In  the  bedroom  the  grandmother  had  her  bed, 
her  old  faded  commode,  a  small  table  with  a  Bible 
and  a  hymn-book  on  it,  and  a  well-scoured  coffee-pot 
that  stood  on  the  stove  and  boiled. 

It  was  touching  to  drink  coffee  in  grandmother's 
room,  for  he  knew  her  only  income  was  from  an 
old,  grey,  speckled  hen,  which  now  and  then  laid 
an  egg. 

"  Help  yourself,  now,"  she  said,  and  put  the 
sugar-bowl  on  the  table. 

Then  she  told  him  confidentially,  in  a  low  tone  of 
voice,  her  daily  troubles,  as  if  he  were  a  grown-up 
man  of  wide  experience. 

While  he  listened  to  her,  happenings  flashed 
through  his  mind  from  the  great  world  of  which  the 
papers  told.  He  wondered  what  might  be  happen- 
ing to  General  Boulanger.  His  .youngest  brother 
opened  the  door  and  wanted  to  be  with  them,  but 
the  father  called  him  back,  and  the  grandmother 
shut  the  door  carefully. 

"  Of  course,  it  would  be  pretty  hard  for  the  poor 
children,"  she  said,  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  turning 
her  old  face  toward  the  window,  "  if  I  didn't  give 
them  a  bit  to  eat  on  the  sly  once  in  a  while.  But, 
of  course,  it  isn't  so  easy  for  me  either,  as  the  hen 


162  God  and  Woman 

doesn't  lay  more  than  one  egg  a  day.  I  must  have 
a  little  good  cream  for  the  coffee,  and  a  little  brown 
sugar  for  my  cough  so  that  it  does  not  become  too 
bad.  But,  then,  there  is  the  food !  "  She  wiped  a 
tear  from  her  eye  with  a  finger,  and  sighed.  "  I 
simply  can't  get  down  that  pickled  herring  and 
dried  fish ;  but  when  a  person  doesn't  have  a  shilling 
for  a  little  fresh  fish,  why—  Oh,  well!  Of 
course,  I  don't  suppose  the  Lord  will  make  me  wait 
much  longer." 

And  poor  Knut  did  not  have  a  shilling  to  give  her 
either.  He  had  spent  the  few  crowns  he  received 
as  wages  for  books. 

When  Knut  went  away,  his  grandmother  and 
brothers  and  sisters  accompanied  him  as  far  as  the 
gate.  There  the  children  had  to  turn  back. 

She  walked  slowly,  her  hands  folded  over  her 
stomach,  and  bent  slightly  toward  Knut,  because 
she  had  so  many  things  to  talk  to  him  about  confi- 
dentially. Knut's  thoughts  wandered  again,  this 
time  to  Bismarck's  speech  in  the  Reichstag;  but 
only  for  a  moment — grandmother's  voice  was  so 
dear. 

Yesterday  her  daughter-in-law  had  refused  to  let 
her  have  a  bit  of  butter  on  her  bread.  And  a  few 
days  ago  she  beat  the  youngest  boy  almost  to  death. 
And  the  father — why,  he  was  not  the  same  person 
since  he  brought  that  woman  into  the  house. 

"  But  this  I  want  you  to  remember,  Knut — that 
commode  of  mine — you  are  going  to  have  that  when 
I  am  gone.  And  the  six  handkerchiefs  you  gave  me 


God  and  Woman  163 

last  Christmas  I  want  Gunhild  to  have.  They  are 
in  the  drawer  of  the  commode,  on  the  right-hand 
side.  And  the  black  skirt  which  is  hanging  in  the 
attic,  and  which  I  have  not  worn  since  I  was  in 
church  four  years  ago — that  I  want  you  to  keep 
until  you  get  a  wife  of  your  own  some  day.  She 
will  not  be  so  fine,  I  hope,  that  she  will  think  it  not 
good  enough  for  her. 

"  Well — now  I  think  it  is  best  for  me  to  go  back," 
she  said,  and  turned  around. 

"  Oh,  no,  can't  you  go  a  bit  farther?  " 
She  shaded  her  eyes  with  her  hand,  and  looked 
toward  the  fjord. 

"  No,  it  will  be  so  far  to  go  back  again." 
They  separated.  He  stood  for  a  moment  and 
looked  after  her.  She  seemed  tired  and  weary. 
The  wind  rumpled  her  white  hair.  She  coughed  as 
she  returned,  slowly,  to  the  sorrows  of  her  old  age, 
out  there  on  the  bleak  shore  of  the  fjord,  swept  by 
the  everlasting  wind. 

Knut  went  his  way.  He  had  received  something 
from  the  simple  home  which  was  more  precious  than 
the  books  and  the  papers  at  Dyrendal.  It  was  like 
a  hymn  which  kept  running  through  his  mind. 
He  would  hum  it  quite  unconsciously,  while  his 
body  swayed  to  the  rhythm  of  it. 

The  June  days  became  warmer.  The  nights  be- 
came lighter.  Many  things  ferment  in  the  mind 
when  a  young  girl's  name  is  Pauline,  and  she  lives 
in  a  yellow  house  just  across  the  lake.  One  might 


164  God  and  Woman 

happen  to  sit  down  in  the  meadow  and  look  in  that 
direction.  The  smoke  still  rises  from  the  yellow 
house,  but  all  life  has  disappeared  from  the  house 
and  from  the  roads.  The  evening  has  changed  into 
bluish  night.  Still  one  might  sit  there.  She  sleeps 
now,  perhaps.  It  is  so  wonderful  to  sit  here  and 
look  at  the  house  and  know  that  she  sleeps.  It  is 
pleasant  to  bring  a  book  also. 

One  Sunday  afternoon  Knut  lay  in  the  meadow 
on  a  bed  of  heather  and  read  A  Happy  Boy,  which 
the  schoolmaster  had  lent  him.  A  drizzle  of  gold- 
rain  from  the  sun  fell  through  the  leaves  upon  his 
slender  body.  When  the  book  was  finished  he  re- 
mained lying  upon  his  back,  gazing  up  into  the 
light-blue  sky. 

The  bell  at  Dyrendal  rang  for  supper,  but  he  put 
his  hands  under  his  head  and  remained  where  he 
was. 

The  strange  thing  about  this  book  was  that  it 
dealt  with  plain  people  and  everyday  life,  and  yet 
it  seemed  greater  and  more  beautiful  than  many 
things  which  were  wTritten  about  kings  and  em- 
perors in  the  history  of  the  world. 

It  was  something  new.  And  when  he  thought  it 
over,  greatness  had  been  brought  much  nearer  to 
him,  also,  than  he  had  ever  thought  possible.  .  .  . 

On  a  bright,  stmny  morning  haying  began  at 
Dyrendal.  Down  the  hill-side  six  men  moved  with 
rhythmical  strides,  swinging  their  glittering  scythes 
over  the  dewy  field. 

First,  there  was  the  master  of  Dyrendal  himself, 


God  and  Woman  165 


bare  headed,  red  suspenders  forming  a  cross  on  his 
back,  his  light  shirt  fluttering  in  the  wind.  After 
him  came  Kristian  Haug,  whose  freckled  face  was 
twisted  out  of  shape  by  anxiety.  Lars  Hafella 
made  a  narrow  cut,  so  he  had  plenty  of  time  for 
witty  remarks  that  made  the  others  laugh.  Then 
there  were  the  cottagers,  and  last,  the  smith,  who 
was  stiff  and  crooked  from  having  stood  at  the  anvil 
year  in  and  year  out. 

Peter  Eriksen  was  sixty,  and  this  year  the  scythe 
seemed  heavy.  He  rested  the  handle  upon  the 
ground,  wiped  the  grass  from  the  blade,  and  took 
a  whetstone  from  its  sheath,  which  swung  from  his 
belt  behind.  A  ringing  sound  went  forth  into  the 
day  as  stone  kissed  steel.  The  sound  of  scythe- 
blades  being  whetted  was  heard  also  from  the  other 
side  of  the  lake.  Upon  the  fjord  there  were  white 
sails,  and  in  the  sky  the  lark  played  upon  its  flute. 

Then  appeared  the  women  folk  with  their  rakes. 
They  talked  and  laughed  as  they  spread  out  the 
grass  to  dry. 

The  master  had  reached  the  lake  while  the  others 
were  still  far  up  in  the  field.  Therefore  he  had 
time  to  sit  down  and  light  his  pipe  and  think  about 
what  he  had  read  in  the  paper :  "  Constitutional " 
—no,  that  was  not  it — he  would  look  it  up  after 
supper. 

"  Now  the  question  is  whether  you  are  man 
enough  to  bring  down  the  horses  to-night,"  he  said 
to  Knut  in  the  evening ;  "  for  if  the  weather  is  good 


166  God  and  Woman 

to-morrow,  the  hay  must  be  hauled  in  before  the 
Devil  gets  his  shoes  on." 

"  I  think  they  are  in  spring  pasture,"  said  Nils, 
who  always  liked  to  join  in  the  conversation  when- 
ever it  did  not  have  to  do  with  books. 

To  go  to  the  uplands  on  a  night  like  this  with  a 
bridle  over  his  arm  is  quite  an  experience  for  a  boy 
who  has  just  read  a  story  about  peasant  life  by 
Bjornson.  The  horses  may  be  in  the  pasture  quite 
near,  and  they  may  be  miles  away  out  in  the  hills. 
The  whole  thing  is  thrilling.  So  much  can  happen, 
and  the  night  is  so  light. 

Dyrendal  sinks  farther  and  farther  below  Knut, 
but  now  he  has  other  eyes  with  which  to  see.  The 
dew  on  the  alder-trees,  the  red  clouds  in  the  sky — 
all  these  he  had  seen  often  before ;  but  now  he  saw 
for  the  first  time  that  they  were  beautiful.  At  last 
he  trotted  to  the  top  of  Lookout  Hill,  as  he  had 
done  a  hundred  times  before,  but  seeing  the  blue 
strip  of  ocean  far  to  the  north  was  a  new  adven- 
ture. He  stopped  to  meditate.  The  landscape  be- 
low him,  with  lake  and  forest  and  hill,  takes  on* 
a  light-blue  tone  which  seems  to  be  wafted  toward 
him.  He  wonders  if  this  is  not  like  loving  a  woman. 
At  any  rate,  he  sees  Pauline  in  the  midst  of  it  all. 
It  seems  a  miracle  to  be  the  person  he  is  and  to 
stand  there  and  breathe  and  live. 

He  runs  over  marsh  and  meadow  again,  becomes 
wet  from  the  leaves  which  strike  him  in  the  face, 
and  gets  his  feet  wet  from  wading  in  the  marshes. 
The  clouds  in  the  eastern  sky  begin  to  flame,  an- 


God  and  Woman  167 

nouncing  a  new  day.  As  he  runs  along,  he  stops 
now  and  then  to  pick  a  white  anemone,  which  he 
places  in  his  hat.  Over  the  marsh  a  brook,  in  which 
the  red  sky  is  mirrored,  winds  its  way;  but  he 
must  on,  far  in  among  the  hills,  to  see  if  there  are 
any  horses  to  be  found.  Some  dark,  blurred  objects 
are  moving  down  a  hill-side  toward  the  north,  and 
a  thrill  of  terror  shoots  through  the  night.  He  is 
alone,  and  bears  have  been  seen  this  year. 

At  last !  In  there,  on  a  green  spot,  brown,  black, 
and  white  horses  are  lying,  their  heads  bent  toward 
the  ground.  One  of  them  is  standing  up,  his  head 
toward  the  wind,  keeping  watch  while  the  others 
are  sleeping.  The  faded  hill-side  above  the  peace- 
ful group  stands  out  against  the  reddish  sky. 

Knut  stops.  He  sees  the  bay  mare  with  the  colt 
lying  in  the  centre,  and  the  others  around  them 
as  if  for  protection.  This  habit  the  tame  farm- 
horses  have,  no  doubt,  inherited  from  their  fore- 
fathers who  lived  on  the  wild  steppes.  The  only 
sound  heard  is  the  trickling  of  a  brook. 

The  horses  get  on  their  feet  as  Knut  approaches. 
Their  heads  are  erect,  their  manes  fluttering  in 
the  wind.  Is  freedom  at  an  end?  Knut  has  salt 
in  his  pocket.  Soon  they  form  a  circle  about  him, 
though  still  at  a  distance.  Motherly  horses  take 
his  measure.  Young  horses  with  flaming  eyes  are 
ready  to  run  away  any  moment.  There  is  an  odour 
of  ammonia  from  their  strong,  sound  bodies.  One 
horse  stretches  out  his  head  for  some  salt,  then 
another,  and  in  a  moment  Knut's  hands  are  being 


1 68  God  and  Woman 


licked  by  five  or  six  tongues.  The  colt  waves  his 
curly  little  tail,  and  also  wants  a  taste.  But  the 
salt  is  too  strong.  He  sneezes  and  shakes  his  head. 
At  last  Knut  has  bridled  the  white  fjord  horse, 
mounted  him,  and  rides  at  a  trot  over  the  heath. 
The  other  horses  follow.  The  ground  rings  under 
the  tramping  hoofs.  This  is  grand.  The  horse 
breaks  into  a  gallop.  Knut's  hat,  decorated  with 
white  anemones,  flutters  in  the  wind.  Hip  ho! 
NOWT  he  is  no  longer  a  herd-boy,  but  a  chieftain  of 
the  Numidians,  leading  their  Cavalry.  Having 
reached  Lookout  Hill,  he  sees  Dyrendal  again  far 
below.  Fjord  and  lake  mirror  the  rosy  dawn,  but 
all  are  fast  asleep,  although  the  cock  is  on  the  door- 
step of  the  stabur  and  swears  it  is  already  late. 


Oh,  for  a  haying  day !  Old  and  young  were  busy 
raking,  and  talked  and  laughed  as  if  it  were  a  wed- 
ding. The  grey  carpet  of  new-mown  hay  on  the 
hill-side  became  alive  with  bare-headed  men  and 
women  in  fluttering  white  sleeves.  The  sun  was 
scorching  hot.  Faces  perspired.  The  odour  of  hay 
ma.de  nostrils  quiver.  A  steamer  on  the  bay 
whistled.  On  the  fjord  a  schooner  raised  her  white 
sails.  During  moments  of  silence  the  sound  of 
waves  lapping  the  beach  could  be  heard.  Now  and 
then  the  odour  of  herring  was  wafted  up  on  the 
breeze.  A  boat  had  made  a  catch  last  night.  The 
boat,  with  a  white  stripe  at  the  water-line,  lay  bob- 
bing in  the  waves  a  short  distance  from  shore.  On 


God  and  Woman  169 

shore  the  fishing-nets,  glittering  with  fish  scales, 
had  been  hung  to  dry. 

"  You  are  wonderful  at  raking,"  said  Jonetta  to 
Kristian  Haug,  as  he  worked  beside  her. 

"  Oh,  there  is  no  use  being  lazy,"  he  answered. 
His  face  brightened  because  she  praised  him.  He 
felt  he  must  be  more  industrious  with  his  hands 
because  he  had  only  one  eye. 

Poor  Kristian  did  not  have  an  easy  time.  One 
day  she  would  make  eyes  at  him  and  would  let 
him  imagine  she  was  in  earnest.  And,  one  night 
during  the  holidays,  she  did  not  say  no  to  a  strange 
suitor.  These  women — these  infernal  women ! 

Helloa,  there  comes  Knut  with  the  bay  mare 
down  the  hill! 

While  Knut  was  spreading  the  hay  in  the  wagon 
and  tramping  it  down,  the  others  try  to  cover  him 
up.  "Hey  there — stop  that!"  His  eyes  and  his 
throat  are  full.  He  sneezes,  and  throws  a  handful 
of  hay  in  the  face  of  Karen,  the  pale  girl.  How- 
ever, the  load  grows  under  him,  and,  at  last,  it  seems 
to  those  on  the  ground  as  if  he  is  tramping  up  there 
just  under  the  sky.  Now,  then,  that  is  enough! 
He  climbs  down,  snatches  the  lines,  and  the  horse 
must  make  three  attempts  before  she  can  move  the 
load.  To  circle  up  over  the  steep  hills  without  tip- 
ping over  is  no  easy  matter.  "  Gee  up,  there !  " 
The  horse  strains  at  the  load,  puffs,  and  must  stop 
often  in  order  to  get  her  breath.  In  the  stable,  the 
colt — poor  creature — whines  because  it  has  been 


17°  God  and  Woman 

shut  in.  Mis  appears  with  his  wagon  empty.  He 
is  coming  back  for  another  load. 

"You  must  not  drive  the  mare  so  hard,"  he 
says.  He  likes  to  show  his  authority,  and  to  keep 
his  eye  on  everything. 

"  Oh,  you  hold  your  tongue !  Do  you  want  to 
teach  me  how  to  drive?  " 

At  last  the  load  thunders  up  over  the  bridge 
leading  to  the  second  story  of  the  barn  and  through 
the  door,  inside.  There  Lars  Hafella  stands  ready 
to  unload. 

Hans  wiped  the  sweat  from  his  brow,  and  sat 
down  in  the  midst  of  the  rush  to  take  a  smoke. 
Large,  friendly  fields  lay  about  him  and  beamed 
upon  him.  Again  he  remembered  a  word  from  the 
report  of  the  doings  of  Parliament  which  it  was  so 
difficult  to  twist  one's  tongue  around :  "  Disqualifi- 

cati "  No,  the  Devil,  that  isn't  right.  He 

would  look  it  up  in  the  papers  after  supper. 

The  papers,  and  his  interest  in  elections,  had 
made  the  world  larger  for  Hans  than  it  had  ever 
been  before.  There  was  something  behind  these 
mountains  that  shut  him  in.  There  were  elections 
at  places  which  were  called  Hedemarken,  Toten, 
Smaalenene.  It  was  strange  how  large  the  world 
was.  In  the  old  days  he  would  have  spells  when 
he  felt  he  simply  must  go  out  on  long  journeys  to 
trade.  Now  he  felt  he  would  like  to  travel  around 
and  talk  politics.  Best  of  all — but  he  did  not  dare 
tell  this  to  Martha — best  of  all,  he  would  like  to 
take  some  of  the  big  politicians  by  the  nose. 


God  and  Woman  171 

A  man  with  light  hair  and  gold  ear-rings  came  up 
from  the  beach  carrying  a  bailing  bucket  full  of 
shining  and  bloody  fresh  herring. 

"  If  you  do  not  scorn  to  accept  it,"  he  said, 

«  Why » 

Hans  stroked  his  forehead,  shook  his  head,  and 
said  it  was  too  much.  But  before  the  generous  one 
was  ready  to  go  he  had  succeeded  in  making  known 
that  he  would  like  to  ask  a  small  favour.  Might 
he  cut  some  brush  for  his  sheep  in  the  north 
meadow?  Hans  knew  from  experience  what  such 
a  gift  of  herring  meant.  But  he  kept  a  sober  face, 
and  thought  for  a  moment,  and  finally  said  he 
guessed  it  would  be  all  right.  The  fisherman 
whistled  as  he  went  away,  because  he  had  been 
well  paid  for  his  herring. 

At  Dyrendal  the  rush  increased  toward  noon, 
because  a  cloud  had  appeared  in  the  northern  sky. 
Hans  took  off  his  shoes  and  stockings  and  ran  about 
barefoot. 

"  You  are  likely  to  have  an  accident,"  said  Peter 
Eriksen. 

"  Don't  worry !  The  person  who  made  these  boots 
for  me  made  only  one  pair,"  he  said,  stroking  his 
bare  foot  with  his  hand,  "  but  he  made  them  water- 
proof." 

"  Ding,  dong,"  rang  the  dinner-bell. 

Knut  and  Nils  hastened  to  unhitch  their  horses, 
raced  down  the  hill,  tore  off  their  clothes,  and 
jumped  into  the  lake. 

They  were  so  taken  up  with  splashing  and  duck- 


172  God  and  Woman 

ing  one  another  that  they  did  not  notice  the  wicked 
Jonetta,  who  approached  as  stealthily  as  a  cat, 
took  their  clothes,  and  ran  up  the  hill  toward  the 
house. 

Laughter  was  heard  from  those  who  stood  on  the 
hill  and  saw  the  deed,  and  finally  a  shout  was  heard 
from  the  lake. 

The  first  thought  of  the  boys  was  to  run  after 
Jonetta ;  but  it  would  not  do  to  let  anyone  see  them 
stark  naked. 

All  were  seated  at  the  table  eating  their  dinner- 
when  the  mistress  found  out  why  the  two  boys  were 
not  there. 

At  first  she  laughed  with  the  rest,  but  soon  she 
went  out,  and  found  the  clothes  in  the  hall,  and 
threw  them  out  in  the  yard.  She  had  seen  two 
heads  peeping  out  from  behind  the  hedge  near  by. 

"  Good  Heavens !  "  exclaimed  Jonetta,  when  they 
came  in  at  last.  "  Have  you  no  sense  of  shame 
— you  run  around  stark  naked  in  broad  daylight !  " 

"  You  just  wait,"  said  the  two  boys. 

After  dinner,  when  they  were  working  in  the  field 
nearest  the  house,  Hans  decided  he  would  drive. 
He  took  charge  of  the  white  fjord  horse.  When 
the  wagon  was  loaded,  he  sat  on  the  load  with  his 
feet  dangling  over  the  horse's  back.  And  he  drove, 
not  at  a  walk,  and  not  at  a  trot,  but  at  a  gallop 
over  field  and  road.  He  thundered  over  the  bridge 
and  into  the  barn  like  a  storm-wind. 

"  Now  he  is  crazy  again,"  said  Peter  Eriksen, 
and  shook  his  head. 


God  and  Woman  173 

Poor  Whitey  was  dripping  wet,  and  her  lungs 
worked  like  a  pair  of  bellows.  Hans  had  one  of 
his  spells  again.  But  what  if  he  did — couldn't  he 
afford  to  drive  one  of  his  horses  to  death  if  he  liked? 

All  stopped  to  look  at  him  as  he  made  the  poor 
horse  haul  one  heavy  load  after  the  other  at  a  wild 
gallop. 

"  You  should  drive  that  way  with  the  bay  horse," 
said  Jonetta  innocently.  All  knew  that  if  he  tried 
it,  the  mistress  herself  would  come  out  and  have  a 
word  to  say. 

Just  as  Hans  drove  in  the  last  load,  it  thundered, 
and  the  storm  broke. 

When  the  two  horses  at  last  were  free  from  their 
harnesses,  the  rain  fell  in  large  drops.  Whitey 
shambled  off  a  short  distance,  lay  down  wearily, 
rolled  over  once,  twice,  several  times,  and  remained 
lying  on  the  ground  for  a  time,  too  tired  to  eat. 
The  bay  mare  stood  up.  Her  colt,  which  had  been 
given  his  freedom,  came  to  his  mother,  and  sucked, 
and  wagged  his  curly  tail,  while  the  mother  lowered 
her  head  to  the  colt's  loin. 

The  sound  of  the  violent  rain  upon  the  shingle 
roofs  of  the  buildings  was  like  the  beating  of  drums, 
and  the  air  was  full  of  the  odour  of  new-mown  hay, 
made  stronger  by  the  moisture. 

When  all  had  gone  to  bed  the  two  maids  began  to 
shriek.  They  jumped  out  of  bed  and  waved  their 
arms  in  the  air. 

"  What  in  the  name  of  God  is  the  matter?  "  called 
the  mistress,  looking  in  through  the  attic  door.  In 


174  God  and  Woman 

a  moment  everyone  was  up.  What  could  be  the 
matter? 

"  There  are  wasps  in  the  bed !  "  shouted  the  girls, 
and  struck  out  with  their  arms  harder  than  before. 

The  hired  men  also  began  to  wave  their  arms  and 
to  swear.  "  The  Devil — that  one  got  me  right  on 
the  nose ! " 

Angry  wasps  were  buzzing  everywhere  in  the 
attic,  and  soon  both  men  and  girls  rushed  to  the 
door  to  get  out. 

The  two  boys  had  received  permission  to  sleep 
in  the  hay-loft  that  night.  They  were  standing  at 
the  door  in  the  wall  of  the  loft  doubled  up  with 
laughter,  while  the  grown  folks,  with  shouts  and 
shrieks,  came  flying  out  of  the  house  in  their  night- 
clothes. 

The  boys  had  had  their  revenge. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  V 

IT  will  be  a  strange  thing  if  the  mistress  of  Dyren- 
dal  does  not  get  her  husband  into  Parliament.  It 
is  no  joke  to  oppose  him  once  he  has  made  up  his 
mind  to  do  anything,  but  God  help  the  person  who 
seems  to  Martha  to  oppose  him  in  this  matter. 
Hans  may  be  defeated  this  time,  and  the  next  time, 
but  there  will  be  another  election  after  that,  and 
she  is  not  one  who  gives  up  at  the  first  sign  of 
trouble. 

In  the  meantime,  the  son  grew  larger  and 
stronger,  and  became  more  and  more  useful  on 
the  farm.  He  was  well  built  and  ruddy,  and  his 
light-brown  hair  was  thick  as  fur.  He  had  not 
become  to  Martha  what  she  once  had  dreamed.  No, 
far  from  it — but  now  she  also  had  other  things  to 
think  about.  Nils  began  to  fit  into  the  daily  life 
of  the  farm.  He  stood  above  the  servants,  and 
always  took  the  part  of  the  master  and  mistress, 
whether  at  home  or  abroad.  He  did  not  say  much. 
When  others  talked  about  newspapers  or  books,  he 
sat  quietly  with  a  little  smile  in  the  right  corner 
of  his  mouth.  But  in  the  field  he  proved  himself  a 
better  workman  than  many  a  full-grown  man. 
"  There  comes  the  overseer,"  the  servants  would  say 
when  he  approached. 

175 


176  God  and  Woman 

Nils  was  in  the  confirmation  class,  and  although, 
he  was  still  so  young,  he  understood  there  were 
many  things  that  the  master  of  Dyrendal  neglected. 
When  the  bell  called  them  in  to  meals,  all  the  others 
dropped  whatever  they  happened  to  have  in  their 
hands  and  rushed  in.  Nils,  on  the  other  hand,, 
might  find  that  some  of  the  horses  needed  to  be 
watered,  or  a  wagon  greased  in  order  to  be  ready 
for  the  next  work  period,  or  a  bit  of  harness  to  be 
hung  up,  which  someone  had  dropped  where  he 
stood  in  the  field.  The  master  also  often  did  things 
that  Mis  thought  were  all  wrong.  For  instance, 
when  Lars  Hafella  went  to  America,  he  promoted 
Knut  Hamren  to  hired  man  with  man's  wages. 
Knut — hired  man — at  Dyrendal!  He  who  would 
stand  there  half  the  time  and  stare  and  look  down 
and  do  nothing !  He  had  a  big  mouth  and  was  very 
important,  that  cottager's  boy,  because  he  had  read 
a  book  or  two  more  than  other  folks.  And  if  he 
said  anything  in  the  house,  half  of  the  folks  would 
make  a  great  ado,  and  laugh,  and  think  it  was  won- 
derfully well  said.  But  if  he,  Nils,  the  heir,  asked 
him  to  do  something,  he  would  only  talk  back  and 
be  impudent.  But  he  would  do  well  to  take  care. 
After  to-day  would  come  another  day. 

Nils  did  not  seem  to  care  for  amusements  in  the 
company  of  other  young  people,  or  for  going  to  the 
village.  Knut  said  it  was  because  he  was  afraid 
something  might  be  carried  off  from  the  farm  when 
he  was  not  there  to  look  after  things. 

Perhaps  there  was  some  truth  in  that,  without 


God  and  Woman  177 

Nils  really  knowing  it  himself.  For  the  farm,  and 
everything  on  it  that  was  worth  money,  had  become 
his  only  comfort  since  the  day  he  discovered  that 
he  would  be  compelled  to  settle  down  on  Dyrendal. 

Each  time  he  had  gone  through  the  woods  and 
visited  his  mother  he  was  so  light-hearted  and 
happy  that  he  sang.  But  when  he  came  back  he 
understood  from  the  master  and  mistress  that  he 
had  done  something  he  should  not  have  done. 

The  evening  before  Confirmation  Day,  the  mother 
and  oldest  daughter  drove  up  to  Dyrendal,  and  Nils 
stood  behind  the  seat  in  the  gig.  He  had  run  to 
meet  them  some  distance  down  the  road. 

Martha  stood  in  a  window  behind  the  curtain, 
and  she  looked,  not  at  her  sister,  but  at  Nils.  Many 
a  gift  had  he  received  from  her  and  Hans,  but  never 
had  she  seen  his  face  as  bright  as  it  was  now. 

Sunday  morning  was  clear  and  bright.  The  hills 
stood  in  red  and  yellow  autumn  colours.  Hans  was 
up  bright  and  early  ready  to  start  on  a  tour  of 
inspection.  Nils,  who  was  about  to  bring  down 
some  horses,  accompanied  him.  They  walked 
through  the  green  meadow  side  by  side — Hans, 
large  and.  bearded,  Nils  smaller  but  well  built  and 
robust,  thoughtful  about  everything,  although  he 
was  to  stand  on  the  church  floor  that  very  day. 
They  crossed  a  field  and  passed  by  golden  shocks  of 
grain.  There  was  an  odour  of  straw  and  grain. 

"  I  wonder  if  it  is  dry?  "  said  Hans. 

Nils  did  not  reply  at  once,  but  stopped  to  put  his 
hand  between  the  sheaves. 


178  God  and  Woman 

"  If  we  have  weather  like  this  one  day  more,"  the 
boy  replied,  "  I  think  we  can  haul  it  in." 

They  stood  and  deliberated  together  almost  as 
equals.  Hans  Dyrendal  had  a  son  at  last.  Before 
them  lay  the  landscape  in  an  autumnal  haze.  The 
church  bells  rang.  Eed,  white,  and  black  cows  were 
tethered  on  the  grassy  slopes. 

When  it  was  about  time  to  start  for  church,  Nils 
came  in  dressed  in  a  suit  of  duffel  and  thin-soled 
shoes  with  elastic  sides.  Martha  went  about 
sprinkling  perfume  on  the  handkerchiefs  of  all  who 
were  going  to  church. 

"  It  seems  to  me  your  trousers  are  a  trifle  long," 
said  the  mother  to  Nils.  She  sat  near  the  door  as 
if  she  were  a  stranger. 

Martha  turned  her  head  toward  her  sister. 

"  As  we  have  had  a  tailor  from  out  of  town  to 
make  his  clothes,  I  think  the  trousers  will  do,"  she 
said,  and  smiled. 

"  Oh,  yes,  yes,  of  course !  I  didn't  mean  that  they 
are  not  all  right,"  said  the  sister  submissively. 

It  was  a  great  day  for  Hans.  He  was  to  appear 
in  church  for  the  first  time  with  his  new  overcoat. 
It  had  never  happened  before  in  this  parish  that  a 
simple  farmer  had  tried  to  imitate  the  great  in  that 
way.  Was  it  strange,  then,  that  he  should  be  wor- 
ried? As  he  came  down  the  stairs,  wearing  tall 
boots,  a  plush  hat,  and  the  blue  overcoat,  which 
dangled  about  his  legs,  he  felt  as  if  he  were  to  stand 
before  the  minister  that  day  and  did  not  quite  know 
his  lesson.  There  would  be  eyes  on  him  at  the  en- 


God  and  Woman  179 

trance  to  the  church.  And  there  was  the  bay  mare 
hitched  to  the  Surrey — that  fine  equipage  which 
had  never  been  used  before!  That  was,  no  doubt, 
the  doing  of  Mis;  or,  perhaps,  of  Martha. 

"  No,  no ! "  said  Hans,  grinning  and  shaking  his 
head.  "  That  is  too  much  all  at  once :  both  the 
coat  and  the  Surrey — I  couldn't  think  of  that !  " 

"  Oh,  I  suppose  you  have  paid  for  both  of  them," 
said  Martha,  who,  upon  this  occasion,  was  very 
anxious  to  outshine  even  the  bailiff's  wife. 

"  Never  in  the  world !  We'll  use  the  gig,"  the 
master  said,  with  authority. 

Thus  two  gigs  drove  away.  At  first  Nils  rode 
behind  with  Hans  and  Martha,  but  soon  he  jumped 
off  their  gig  and  went  to  ride  with  his  mother.  The 
lake  was  smooth.  Many  rowed  to  church;  others 
drove;  others,  again,  walked.  All  the  roads  were 
full  of  people.  Dogs  barked;  horses  neighed. 
People  swarmed  among  the  wooden  crosses  sur- 
rounding the  church,  some  of  which  were  slanting. 
The  bell  rang.  Many  parents  drove  up  to  the  gate 
on  this  day  with  a  son  or  a  daughter  who  was  to  be 
confirmed,  but  when  the  master  and  mistress  of 
Dyrendal  drove  up,  they  were  alone. 

It  was  Martha's  sister  who  drove  up  with  a  son 
to  be  confirmed. 

Because  of  the  blue  overcoat,  Hans  went  about 
among  the  men  with  a  somewhat  timid  expression. 
He  rewarded  a  friendly  word  with  a  smile.  He  was 
very  condescending  and  shook  hands  with  even  poor 
fishermen.  He  did  not  pretend  to  be  an  important 


i8o  God  and  Woman 

man.  In  fact,  he  was  the  lowliest  one  among  them. 
Finally,  the  bailiff  came  and  begun  to  talk  with  him. 
That  stiffened  him  up  somewhat.  Now  he  was  at 
least  as  good  as  the  sacristan,  who  was  the  candi- 
date of  the  opposition  party.  Didn't  he  look  as  if 
he  were  as  good  a  man  as  the  sacristan?  Later, 
folks  could  see  his^  broad  back  as  he  sat  beside  the 
bailiff  in  one  of  the  front  pews.  Martha  thought, 
with  just  a  touch  of  pride :  "  Yes,  that  is  the  master 
of  Dyrendal." 

The  choir  gallery  awakened.  The  organ  pealed 
forth  its  call.  It  was  an  old  wooden  church  with 
white  pillars  and  solid  timber  walls,  painted  red. 
The  hymn  put  life  into  the  many  carved  figures — 
the  two  apostles  above  the  pulpit  with  their  book 
and  key,  the  two  angels  above  them  with  extended 
wings.  Moses  stood  in  the  chancel  beside  the  altar 
holding  his  tablets  of  stone  upon  which  the  law  was 
inscribed.  The  little  church  seemed  to  be  a  living 
Bible. 

Martha  felt  that  under  the  influence  of  the  hymn 
she  lost  power  over  herself.  Her  mind  tumbled 
about  in  other  kingdoms  than  that  of  her  daily  life. 
She  felt  as  if  she  were  swept  along  on  the  crest  of 
a  wave.  She  hummed  the  hymn,  but  her  eyes  were 
fixed  upon  the  painting  above  the  altar. 

A  woman  in  black  kneels  at  the  foot  of  the  Cross. 
It  is  a  mother.  Her  Son  hangs  on  the  Cross  over 
her  head.  His  hands  and  His  feet  are  pierced 
through.  His  body  is  twisted  with  pain.  The 
church  echoes  with  the  hymn,  and  He  says: 


God  and  Woman  181 

"  Father,  into  Your  hands  I  commend  My  Spirit." 
Do  you  hear,  Martha — that  woman  is  His  mother. 

Little  by  little  Martha  is  swept  nearer  to  this 
woman.  She  understands  her,  imagines  herself  in 
her  place,  their  lives  intermingle.  Once  the  Cruci- 
fied One  was  a  little  boy.  He  followed  His  mother 
about  and  hung  in  her  skirts  and,  no  doubt,  put 
His  finger  in  His  mouth  and  said  little  simple 
things — He,  too.  And  the  mother  was  proud,  and 
felt  secure  because  no  other  woman  had  given  birth 
to  Him.  Not  even  her  own  sister  could  say  He  be- 
longed to  her.  Then  He  began  to  grow  up.  And 
there  was  no  one  outside  of  the  house  He  constantly 
longed  for.  If,  one  day,  He  became  sick,  He  would 
throw  His  arms  around  His  mother's  neck,  and 
when  He  became  well,  there  was  no  joy  like  her  joy. 
Then  He  became  very  wise  and  instructed  in  the 
temple,  and  the  mother  learned  how  clever  He  was. 
She  said  nothing,  but  it  became  even  more  blessed 
to  toil  for  Him.  Then — then — well,  there  He  lies 
now.  But  He  still  belongs  to  her.  What  woman 
is  there  who  would  not  extend  her  arms  to  this 
mother  and  say :  "  I  would  exchange  all  the  glories 
of  the  world  for  your  present  sorrow."  Even  happy 
mothers  would  beg  for  it.  How  much  more,  then, 
those  women  who  feel  that  their  hearts  are  empty, 
and  who  seek  for  mere  worldly  honour  and  power, 
in  order  to  forget,  forget 

Thus  it  happened  that  Martha's  thoughts  once 
more  took  wing.  As  once  before  she  sang  the  words 


182  God  and  Woman 

of  the  hymn,  but  her  mind  sang  a  hymn  of  its  own.  \ 

"  Our  hymn  is  to  You  who  kneel  there,  above  theN 
altar.  Your  suffering  is  sacred.  Your  lot  is  the  1 
greatest  that  can  come  to  anyone.  Take  us  women  \ 
up  to  You  and  let  us  partake  of  Your  soul — that  we  / 
ask  of  You,  who  are  the  hope  and  consolation  of  all  | 
the  women  on  earth." 

To-day  Martha  made  no  demand  on  God  for  ) 
happiness.     She  had  no  scores  to  settle  with  Him.    \ 
She  saw  a  way  through  infinite  difficulties,  which, 
at  the  same  time,  led  up  to  Him.     This  way  was    j 
not  through  the  Son  upon  the  Cross,  but  through    , 
His  mother — through  her  who  became  sanctified  by 
her  suffering  for  her  Son — for  a  child — the  salva-    { 
tion  of  all  women. 

The  congregation  sang.  The  hymn  carried  her 
along.  Martha  forgot  who  she  was. 

The  young  folks  walked  out  upon  the  floor  in  the 
centre  aisle.  On  the  one  side  were  the  girls  with 
hymn-book  and  handkerchief,  on  the  other  side  the 
boys.  Nils  was  there — the  son  she  had  borrowed 
of  another.  He  was  better  dressed  than  any  of  his 
comrades.  The  tuft  of  hair  over  his  forehead  stood 
straight  up.  But  he  was  handsome.  He  seemed 
happy.  Was  it  because  someone  he  cared  for  was 
present? 

Many  a  woman's  eyes  from  the  women's  side  of 
the  church  sought  their  own  among  those  to  be  con- 
firmed. Their  eyes  were  filled  with  tears.  And  the 
young  folks  dared  not  look  back.  It  would  be  pain- 


God  and  Woman  183 

f  ul,  and  their  knees  might  grow  weak.  It  was  better 
to  cough  and  blow  the  nose  and  look  down  at  the 
hymn-book. 

Martha  looked  at  Nils,  until  she  noticed  there  was 
another  woman  who  also  looked  at  him.  Then  she 
turned  her  eyes  again  towards  the  altar. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VI 

IT  did  not  look  as  if  there  would  be  sleighing  on 
Christmas  Day.  There  was  no  snow — only  black 
frost  and  wind,  one  day  after  the  other.  Nils  and 
Knut  were  in  the  wood-shed  splitting  wood  for  the 
holidays.  They  were  sufficiently  friendly  to  talk 
about  girls,  and  which  one  they  intended  to  meet 
on  the  third  day  after  Christmas.  Now  and  then 
one  of  them  would  step  outside  and  look  toward 
the  north  to  see  if  there  were  any  signs  of  snow, 
because  the  drive  with  sleighs  and  sleigh-bells  on 
Christmas  Day  to  the  chapel,  situated  in  an  out-of- 
the-way  corner  of  the  parish,  had  been,  for  many 
generations,  an  annual  event  for  all  of  the  young 
people  of  the  parish. 

From  time  to  time  Jonetta,  with  her  hair  flutter- 
ing in  the  wind,  would  come  for  an  armful  of  wood. 

"  I  am  afraid  someone  might  put  his  arm  around 
your  waist  this  Christmas,"  said  Knut. 

"  You  mind  your  own  business — you  never  dare 
to  look  at  a  girl." 

Away  she  went  with  the  wood.  The  north  wind 
snatched  sticks  of  wood  from  her  and  sent  them 
whirling  down  the  path. 

On  Christmas  Eve  everyone  in  the  house  had  to 
take  a  bath.  Clean  linen  hung  around  the  fireplace, 

184 


God  and  Woman  185 

and  the  mistress  herself  scrubbed  the  backs  of  the 
men  so  that  the  soap  foamed.  Outside  the  storm- 
wind  hooted. 

There  was  one  who  schemed  to  escape  taking  a 
bath — that  was  the  master  himself :  he  was  deathly 
afraid  of  having  water  touch  his  body,  but  this 
time  escape  was  impossible  even  for  him. 

Toward  evening  Knut  came  in  shouting :  "  Now 
it  is  snowing." 

The  others,  whose  faces  shone  from  their  recent 
scrubbing,  rushed  to  the  outer  door,  stretched  their 
hands  out  into  the  darkness,  then  came  stumbling 
in  to  the  lamplight.  Yes — there  were  large  white 
snowflakes  on  their  hands.  "  It  is  true,"  said  sev- 
eral voices ;  "  it  is  snowing." 

There  might  still  be  sleighing  before  morning. 
Nils  and  Knut  had  decided  to  sleep  on  the  floor 
before  the  fire-place,  to  see  whether  it  was  true  that 
the  person  who  wakes  up  first  on  Christmas  morn- 
ing finds  grains  of  wheat  under  the  table. 

The  lamp  burned  throughout  the  long  winter 
night  at  Dyrendal,  as  at  every  other  house  in  the 
parish.  And  the  people  slept — all  except  Kristian 
Haug,  who  lay  awake  in  his  bed  in  the  attic  and 
worried  because  he  was  certain  some  strange  suitor 
would  come  to  see  Jonetta  during  the  holidays,  and 
he  could  think  of  no  way  of  preventing  it. 

"What  does  it  concern  you?"  she  would  reply 
whenever  he  referred  to  the  matter. 

The  two  boys  before  the  fire-place  forgot  about 
the  grains  of  wheat  under  the  table.  They  were 


1 86  God  and  Woman 

awakened  by  the  mistress,  who  stood  before  them 
with  coffee  and  coffee-bread. 

At  the  break  of  day  the  young  folks  went  to  the 
windows  to  see  whether  there  was  snow  on  the 
ground.  To  their  disappointment  the  wind  had 
swept  it  away,  leaving  the  ground  bare  in  many 
spots. 

"  Pshaw,  then  we'll  drive  on  the  ice,"  said  Kris- 
tian  Haug. 

"  But  are  the  horses  shod  for  it?  "  asked  Hans. 

Hadn't  he  learned  to  know  Nils  yet?  Didn't  he 
know  that  boy  could  stand  in  the  smithy  and  put 
calks  in  the  horses'  shoes?  Or  did  he  imagine  Nils 
might  not  know  that  the  shoes  belonged  under  the 
hoofs  of  the  horses? 

Three  sleighs,  carrying  the  women  folks,  moved 
down  the  brown,  frozen  hill  toward  the  ice.  Shawls 
fluttered  in  the  wind.  The  men  ran  beside  the 
sleighs  and  pushed  to  help  them  over  the  sandy 
places.  The  frozen  lake,  under  the  dark,  clouded 
sky,  was  not  a  mirror  to-day.  There  were  greyish- 
white  spots,  and  dark  spots  of  frozen  slush.  Only 
here  and  there  the  ice  was  smooth  and  bright. 

The  wind  was  sharp.  Faces  became  blue  and 
eyes  watery  as  they  set  out,  with  the  wind  from 
the  side,  over  the  frozen  lake. 

Several  sleighs  were  seen  under  the  opposite 
shore.  The  horses  began  to  trot.  Their  manes  and 
tails  fluttered  in  the  wind.  The  ice  sputtered  under 
the  sharp  shoes.  A  cracking  and  snapping  was 
heard  as  the  ice  was  rent  by  the  cold. 


God  and  Woman  187 

Whitey,  the  little  old  fjord  horse,  that  many  a 
fool  had  driven  almost  to  death,  was  perfectly  wild 
to-day  under  the  sleigh-bells.  Knut  could  hardly 
hold  him  in.  When  Kristian  Haug  with  the  bay 
mare  came  up  beside  Knut  they  must  race  over  the 
lake,  which  was  several  miles  long. 

The  women  folk  laughed.  Hills  and  houses  on 
shore  seemed  to  fly  past  them.  The  bay  mare  took 
long  steps,  although  she  was  heavy  on  account  of 
the  many  colts  she  had  had.  But  Whitey's  little 
feet  worked  like  drum-sticks,  and  gradually  he 
forged  ahead  of  her.  Nils  rode  in  a  cutter,  and 
wore  his  master's  overcoat  with  fur  collar  raised  to 
protect  his  ears.  His  large,  young  horse  was 
warmed  up,  and  trotted  so  fast  that  every  moment 
he  threatened  to  break  into  a  wild  gallop. 

Kristian  sat  beside  Jonetta.  Her  face  was  rosy 
and  beautiful  under  the  grey  kerchief.  Kristian 
was  thinking  he  would  ask  the  master  if  he  might 
have  a  small  place  to  clear  for  himself  very  soon. 

Before  anyone  knew  what  had  happened,  the  bay 
mare  lay  on  her  side  and  swept  the  ice  clean  for 
some  distance.  She  had  lost  a  shoe,  and  had  slipped 
and  fallen  down.  She  tossed  about  wildly,  trying 
to  get  on  her  feet,  but  fell  down  again  and  nearly 
broke  the  shafts. 

"  There  are  shoes  and  tools  in  the  box  under  the 
seat ! "  shouted  Nils,  who  had  thought  of  every- 
thing— and  his  horse  dashed  by,  breaking  into  a 
gallop. 

Knut  finally  succeeded  in  stopping  Whitey,  and 


1 88  God  and  Woman 

came  back  to  help.  Lying  on  her  side  with  her  head 
raised  to  see  what  was  going  on,  the  bay  mare  was 
shod  on  the  ice  just  before  daybreak. 

Then  the  sleigh-bells  echoed  again  over  the  frozen 
lake. 

"To-night  Knut  is  going  a-wooing,"  said  Hans 
on  the  third  day  of  Christmas  week.  He  had  found 
out  that  the  two  boys  were  planning  something  they 
did  not  want  anyone  to  know  about. 

When  Knut  went  out  to  feed  the  horses  and  close 
the  stable  for  the  night,  Nils  shambled  out  after 
him,  as  if  he  were  coming  back  in  a  moment,  but  a 
moment  later  they  pulled  their  caps  down  over 
their  ears  and  set  out  over  the  hills  in  the  dark. 

A  dark  object  slipped  past  them.    They  stopped. 

"  That  was  Kristian  Haug,"  said  Knut. 

"  Yes,  so  it  was,"  thought  Nils.  "  To-night  he 
will,  no  doubt,  be  prowling  around  with  a  knife  in 
his  hand.  I  pity  the  poor  fellow  who  is  coming  to 
see  Jonetta." 

The  night  was  cold  and  dark,  with  strong  north 
wind  and  stars.  It  was  something  new  for  these 
two  to  be  out  so  late  at  night  at  this  time  of  year, 
and  it  seemed  strange  to  see  the  lights  go  out  at  the 
farm-houses  scattered  about.  They  felt  that  they 
were  left  alone  with  the  cold  and  the  night.  But 
that  was  exactly  what  they  wanted.  Although  they 
were  constantly  nagging  at  one  another,  they  had 
agreed  for  several  weeks  that  this  Christmas  they 
would  call  on  some  girls.  At  last  they  would  be 
grown-up  men — they,  too. 


God  and  Woman  189 

There  was  still  one  light  burning  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  lake,  and  along  the  shore  of  the  fjord 
there  was  a  row  of  lights  that  looked  like  yellow 
stars.  They  knew  what  these  yellow  stars  meant. 
They  were  lights  on  the  large  fishing-boats  which 
were  provisioned  and  ready  for  the  long  journey  to 
Lofoten,  and  to-night  there  was  a  gay  party  on  each 
ship.  Men  in  their  jumpers  and  sou'-westers  sat 
with  girls  on  their  laps.  Beer  and  brandy  went 
the  rounds.  They  kissed  and  ate  flat  bannock  until 
the  syrup  was  smeared  over  their  faces.  It  was  a 
world  by  itself  out  there.  The  two  boys  from 
Dyrendal  were  on  their  way  to  see  girls  at  Naust 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  lake. 

They  had  gone  only  a  short  distance  when,  sud- 
denly, they  heard  a  shout  down  the  road,  and  before 
they  had  really  had  time  to  make  up  their  minds 
what  it  meant,  Nils  shouted  in  reply. 

They  stopped.  It  was  as  if  they  had  hurled  a 
challenge  into  the  darkness — against  the  Holy 
Christmas,  the  wind,  the  frost,  the  stars.  The 
heavens  were  so  far  away ;  they  themselves  so  small 
that  they  were  lost  in  the  black  night.  They  could 
do  things  that  were  not  allowed  in  daylight. 
"  Hey !  "  This  time  both  shouted. 

Several  voices  came  nearer.  Many  feet  tramped 
the  frozen  road.  Then  they  stopped. 

"  Good  evening !    And  Merry  Christmas." 

"  Good  evening !  " 

A  match  was  struck,  shielded  by  a  coat  as  if  to 
light  a  pipe  in  the  lee  of  the  wind;  but  it  was  no 


190  God  and  Woman 

doubt  done  in  order  to  see  who  the  strangers  were. 
They  were  men  from  Aasen,  from  Koya,  and  from 
Kabben.  They  smelt  of  strong  drink,  and  were  very 
jolly. 

"  Out  quite  late,  good  folks!  "  said  Nils. 

"  Yes,  we  are  out  looking  for  a  porker." 

There  was  laughter,  and  the  boys  mingled  and 
talked  together. 

John  Kabben  spoke  up: 

"  We  have  heard  that  the  theological  student 
from  Helvika  is  at  Sollia,  and  we  thought  of  going 
there  and  throwing  him  out  of  bed." 

The  profile  of  Hans  Koya's  large  nose  stood  out 
against  the  yellow  strip  in  the  western  sky.  He 
blew  his  nose  and  grinned. 

"  Will  you  boys  come  along?  It  will  be  great 
fun  to  throw  someone  out  of  bed  in  the  good  old 
way,"  said  Lars  Aasen. 

"Yes,  we'll  go,"  said  Nils.  They  could  see  the 
girls  at  Naust  some  other  time. 

"  But  first  we  must  sample  the  lunch,"  said  some- 
one. A  bottle  appeared  from  a  coat  pocket  and 
went  the  rounds.  There  was  a  sound  of  swallowing 
and  of  smacking  of  lips.  Then  the  crowd  began  to 
move — tramp,  tramp,  over  the  frosty  ground.  Now, 
and  then  an  iron-shod  heel  struck  sparks  as  it  hit 
a  stone. 

Knut  felt  like  another  person  on  this  dark  night, 
when  all  the  lights  were  out  at  the  farm-houses,  and 
he  was  on  an  errand  that  meant  unlocking  doors 
and  stealing  in  without  waking  anybody.  He  was 


God  and  Woman  191 

no  longer  himself.  Something  heavy  in  the  bottom 
of  his  being  rose  up,  and  when  the  others  stopped 
to  shout,  he  also  shouted  so  that  the  hills  and  moun- 
tains rattled  on  their  foundations. 

Knut  pushed  aside  the  thought  of  a  tender  girl 
across  the  lake.  Now  it  was  girls  in  a  wild  dance, 
no  matter  who,  and  especially  meetings  in  the  dark, 
and  deeds  that  could  not  be  done  in  the  daylight. 

He  began  to  sing.  Another  joined  in  the  song. 
Soon  all  were  singing  and  shouting,  keeping  step 
with  the  music : 

"Olina  slept  so  peacefully, 

Peacefully, 
She  smiled  so  sweet  and  tenderly, 

Tenderly ; 
Then  came  a  chimney-sweep  so  fine, 

Sweep  so  fine, 
Of  him  I  now  shall  sing  a  line." 

"  Wait  a  minute.  My  throat  is  so  dry !  "  said 
John  Rabben.  The  bottle  went  the  rounds  again, 
and  there  was  more  smacking  of  lips.  A  gust  of 
wind  nearly  carried  off  the  hat  of  one  of  the  merry 
company.  As  a  reply  they  all  began  to  shout  again. 
By  this  time  it  was  hard  for  them  to  keep  on  their 
legs  in  the  wind. 

"Hush!" 

A  long-drawn-out  howl  was  heard  down  the  road. 
They  shouted  in  reply.  The  next  time  the  howling 
was  heard,  Lars  Aasen  said : 

"ItisOle!" 

Knut  almost  shuddered  when  he  heard  this  name 


192  God  and  Woman 

mentioned.  When  he  was  a  child,  the  grown  folks 
had  scared  him  by  saying :  "  If  you  do  not  behave 
we'll  send  for  Ole."  If  respectable  people,  sleeping 
peacefully,  heard  the  door  kicked  open  in  the  dead 
of  night,  and  the  stairway  leading  to  the  attic  torn 
out,  they  knew  very  well  it  was  the  work  of  Ole. 
If  the  father  tried  to  drive  him  away  he  was  beaten 
black  and  blue.  In  the  daytime  he  was  known  sim- 
ply as  Ole  Gjert,  a  well-behaved  fellow,  tall  as  a 
giant,  who  seemed  to  be  endowed  with  eternal 
youth.  He  was  always  out  running  around  at 
nights,  although  he  was  nearly  fifty  years  old. 

"  Hurr ! "  he  growled,  and  stopped  in  the  dark- 
ness. 

"  Hurr !  "  replied  the  others,  and  stopped  also. 

Ole  struck  a  match.  When  he  had  learned  who 
the  others  were,  and  had  had  a  drink,  he  decided 
to  join  them.  He  also  was  primed  and  ready  for  a 
prank  at  Sollia.  Thirty  years  ago  he  had  been 
there,  and  had  helped  the  present  master  of  Sollia 
roll  down  the  same  stairway.  It  would  be  great 
fun  to  know  what  sort  of  girls  they  had  there  now. 

Then  they  trudged  on  into  the  darkness — into  the 
cold  winter  night. 

Nils,  who  usually  was  so  quiet  and  reserved  in 
the  daylight,  became  more  and  more  wild  out  here 
in  the  darkness.  He  shouted  louder  than  any  of 
the  others,  and  when  they  passed  by  a  house,  he 
wanted  to  steal  in  and  build  a  fire. 

They  approached  the  dark  buildings  of  Sollia 
with  light  steps.  They  found  the  kitchen  door.  It 


God  and  Woman  193 

was  locked.  A  match  flashed.  Ole  found  the  spot 
inside  of  which  he  thought  the  latch  must  be.  He 
drove  his  knife  through  the  door  and  lifted  the 
latch.  Inside  everything  was  still.  Only  the  tick- 
ing of  the  clock  was  heard  in  the  room  where  the 
master  and  mistress  slept.  They  fumbled  around  in 
the  kitchen.  Ole  found  the  stairway  leading  to 
the  attic,  exactly  where  it  stood  thirty  years  ago. 
He  went  first.  The  stairway  creaked.  It  was  as 
though  the  sleeping  house  growled  over  being  dis- 
turbed. As  they  reached  the  top,  a  bucket  of  water 
was  emptied  over  the  heads  of  those  nearest,  which 
splashed  and  ran  over  their  hats  and  down  their 
backs.  The  Devil!  Then  the  theological  student 
had  set  a  mouse-trap.  Soon,  however,  they  were 
up.  The  beams  creaked  under  their  heavy  tread. 
A  match  flashed  again.  One  could  see  a  large  attic 
with  beds  around  the  walls.  Beyond  the  next  door 
was,  no  doubt,  the  daughter's  room.  They  went  on, 
one  after  the  other — Ole  always  in  the  lead. 
Another  match  flashed.  There  was  the  bed.  It 
became  dark  again.  They  waited  a  moment. 

"  What  do  you  want?  "  a  woman's  voice  called. 

The  student,  who  later  became  a  member  of 
Parliament,  kept  perfectly  quiet;  for,  what  if  it 
should  leak  out  that  he,  the  coming  leader  of  the 
people,  walked  in  such  ways  of  darkness  at  night. 

"  Here,  I  have  his  feet,"  said  Ole,  chuckling. 
"  Ah,  you  kick,  you  rascal !  "  Now  there  was  ex- 
citement. Some  took  hold  of  his  arms,  others  by 
the  collar.  Ole  held  his  feet,  and  went  first.  They 


194  G°d  and  Woman 

brought  him  through  the  attic  with  heavy  steps. 
At  the  stairway  the  student  began  to  kick  and  strike 
with  his  fists,  and  to  use  his  tongue;  but  the  next 
moment  he  was  pushed  down  the  stairway  and  went 
tumbling  into  the  kitchen  with  a  tremendous  crash. 

"  What  is  all  this  racket  in  the  middle  of  the 
night?  "  called  the  mistress  from  the  living-room, 
and  pounded  on  the  wall. 

"  Oh,  you  keep  quiet,  Anders,  or  you  will  get  a 
thrashing,  too,"  said  Ole. 

Now  their  errand  here  was  done.  The  theolgoical 
student  had  taken  flight.  Ole  went  quietly  in  to 
see  the  old  folks,  lit  his  pipe,  sat  down  on  the  bed, 
and  gave  them  a  drink. 

"  You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself — to  run 
around  at  night  like  this — an  old  man  like  you," 
said  the  mistress. 

"  Perhaps  you  remember  it  was  pleasant  enough 
when  I  used  to  come  to  see  you,"  said  Ole,  scratch- 
ing the  bristly  grey  beard  on  his  chin. 


Then  next  day  Martha  was  pale  and  would  often 
go  to  the  window.  Mis  and  Knut  had  not  come 
home  yet.  The  girls  had  asked  for  permission  to. 
go  to  the  prayer-meeting  that  evening,  and  Kristian 
Haug  had  gone  home.  She  and  Hans  had  been  left 
alone  in  the  large  house.  No  one  felt  that  he  or 
she  in  any  sense  belonged  to  them.  No  one  seemed 
to  care  for  their  comfort.  No  one  tried  to  make  it 
pleasant  for  them.  If  Nils  came  home  during  the 


God  and  Woman  195 

day,  no  doubt  he  would  want  to  go  home  and  see 
his  mother  to-morrow. 

There  was  winter  weather  in  her  mind  as  she  and 
Hans  sat  in  the  living-room  at  dusk.  She  seemed 
to  have  a  chill.  Her  very  soul  seemed  to  shiver. 

"  I  wonder  what  sort  of  man  Nils  will  become?  " 
she  said  at  last,  as  she  dropped  her  knitting  in  her 
lap  and  looked  through  the  window. 

Hans  looked  up  from  his  paper. 

"  Perhaps  there  are  others  who  wonder  about 
that,  too,"  he  said,  smiling. 

"  I  asked  him  to  drive  me  to  the  prayer-meeting 
this  evening,"  she  continued.  "  But  it  seems  that 
he  has  more  important  things  to  attend  to." 

"  If  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  driving  you  to  the 
prayer-meeting,  I  suppose  we  can  find  a  way." 

"  It  was  not  you  I  asked.    It  was  Nils." 

"  Oh,  well,  but  I  suppose  we  have  all  been  young. 
He  is,  no  doubt,  out  with  his  companions." 

"  I  imagine  there  are  plenty  of  girls  who  would 
be  glad  to  have  the  heir  to  Dyrendal  as  the  father 
of  their  children.  There  may  be  a  little  of  every- 
thing in  store  for  us." 

There  wras  silence  for  a  time.    Then  Hans  said : 

"  He  is  really  very  economical — Nils.  If  a  cot- 
tager wishes  to  borrow  a  horse,  he  always  objects. 
It  will  be  different  here  when  he  gets  control  of 
the  farm." 

"  It  seems  to  me  that  he  has  taken  control  al- 
ready," said  she.  "  But  I  suppose  there  is  someone 
who  is  putting  him  up  to  it." 


196  God  and  Woman 

Hans  looked  at  her  questioningly.  She  con- 
tinued : 

"  Oh,  yes,  there  must  be  some  reason  why  she 
wants  him  to  go  to  see  her  constantly.  She  is  not 
the  sister  of  my  brothers  for  nothing." 

A  cold  shudder  seemed  to  run  through  the  room 
in  the  dim  light.  It  was  as  if  these  two  feared 
the  heir — as  if  they  feared  what  might  happen  when 
the  time  should  come. 

"  At  any  rate,  he  is  a  clever  fellow  and  a  good 
workman,"  said  Hans  comfortingly. 

"  Yes,  clever  enough,  when  he  can  do  as  he 
pleases,"  said  Martha. 

Jonetta  had  come  home  at  last.  She  sat  in  the 
kitchen  writing  a  letter  when  the  mistress  asked 
her  to  put  on  her  wraps  and  go  out  with  her. 

Hans  had  gone  to  bed.  The  two  boys  had  not  yet 
come  home. 

Outdoors  the  weather  was  clear  and  cold.  Over 
the  dark  hills  rose  the  glimmering,  starry  vault, 
and  straight  above  was  a  broad  band  of  northern 
lights  that  flickered  and  quivered  and  shot  out 
streamers  to  the  side  that  resembled  faint  puffs  of 
smoke. 

From  the  lake  came  explosions,  as  the  night  frost 
caused  the  ice  to  crack  from  shore  to  shore. 

"  Come  with  me,"  said  Martha,  as  she  took  the 
road  leading  down  the  hill.  She  wore  a  large 
woollen  shawl  over  her  head  and  shoulders,  and 
took  short  steps  as  she  walked  over  the  frozen 
ground.  She  stopped  a  moment  and  looked  at  the 


God  and  Woman  197 

western  sky  far  away  behind  the  fjord.  Suddenly 
she  began  to  laugh  an  icy  laugh. 

"  Do  you  know  what  we  are  going  to  do  now? 
We — he,  he,  he — we  are  going  to  steal  wood." 

The  girl  stared  at  her,  and  took  a  step  backward. 
But  as  the  mistress  went  on,  she  dared  not  do  other 
than  follow  her.  The  cold  of  the  frosty  grass 
struck  through  the  shoes  of  both  and  chilled  them 
through  and  through. 

Martha  stopped  to  listen. 

"  Do  you  hear?  " 

They  heard  a  heavy  rumbling  sound,  mysterious 
and  far  awTay,  as  if  mighty  beings  fought  and  fell 
and  gasped  far  out  there  in  the  night. 

"What  is  that?"  asked  Jonetta  in  a  quivering 
voice. 

"  That  is  the  sea,"  said  Martha. 

"  The  sea — but  that  is  far  away,  beyond  the  moun- 
tains." 

"  Yes,  it  is  the  sea.  We  do  not  notice  a  west  wind 
much  here,  but  this  must  be  a  bad  night  for  boats 
and  ships." 

"  Well — but  where  are  we  going?  " 

"  AVe  are  going  to  steal  wood."  The  mistress 
laughed  again  and  went  on. 

"  Good  Lord !  "  mumbled  the  girl,  and  stared 
again  at  Martha.  But  the  authority  of  the  mistress 
was  so  great,  there  was  nothing  for  her  to  do  but 
follow. 

They  came  to  the  beach.  As  they  stepped  in 
the  sand  and  among  the  pebbles,  silvery  flames  shot 


198  God  and  Woman 

up  from  under  their  feet.  It  was  the  sea-fire.  It 
remained  in  their  footprints  for  a  moment  and 
burned  in  the  darkness. 

Large  racks  of  birch-wood  appeared  on  the  other 
side  of  the  stone  wall.  They  belonged  to  a  neigh- 
bour. 

"  Come  now,"  said  Martha,  and  began  to  take 
sticks  of  wood. 

The  girl  took  the  wood  from  Martha,  but  looked 
about  as  if  afraid  someone  might  be  near. 

The  hills  were  hard  to  climb  with  a  heavy  burden 
of  wood. 

"  Be  careful  that  you  do  not  drop  any  on  the 
ground,"  said  the  mistress  with  a  grin. 

When  they  had  reached  the  wood-shed  she  added : 
"  It  will  be  best  for  you  not  to  say  to  anyone  that  I 
did  it — he,  he,  he !  For  if  you  do  I  shall  say  it  was 
you.  Good  night !  " 

Soon  Martha  lay  beside  her  husband — yawned, 
and  had  a  most  innocent  look. 

It  is  a  relief  to  sin  a  little  when  a  person  has  a^\ 
desire  to  do  things  that  are  a  thousand  times  worse./ 

She  heard  a  mumbling  sound  that  came  from  the 
attic.  It  was  Jonetta,  who  read  prayers  of  re- 
pentance for  the  sin  she  had  committed  that  night. 

Martha  smiled  and  closed  her  eyes. 

She  thought  it  was  a  sin  and  shame — the  way 
these  good  powers  and  evil  powers  played  their  • 
game  in  her  mind  as  on  a  battle-field.    On  Christ- 
mas Eve,  while  scripture  was  read  at  the  table,  and 
on  Christmas  Day  in  church,  ,her  heart  had  been  \ 


God  and  Woman  199 

so  full  of  pure  and  exalted  piety.  The  woman  at 
the  foot  of  the  Cross  in  the  painting  above  the  altar 
— oh — oh ! 

But — afterward !  It  was  as  if  everything  at  home 
pointed  a  finger  at  her.  "  You  make  a  great  ado 
and  think  about  the  mother  of  Christ,"  she  thought, 
"  and  you — you  have  not  given  birth  even  to  one 
sinful  child.  The  one  you  call  your  heir  is  not 
yours.  It  is  a  lie  that  he  belongs  to  you.  In  his 
eyes  you  are  only  an  old  woman,  and  he  puts  up 
with  you  because  some  fine  day  he  expects  to  take 
away  from  you  everything  you  own.  What  are 
you  singing  hymns  of  praise  for?  " 

/It  was  as  if  even  the  Lord  in  heaven  looked  down 
on  her  and  thought  she  was  ridiculous. 
I  To-night,  in  retaliation,  she  had  tried  to  avenge 
herself  by  committing  a  sin,  and  pointing  her  finger 
back  at  heaven.  But  goodness! — the  one  was  just 
as  useless  and  foolish  as  the  other. 

Late  at  night  a  shout  was  heard  from  the  road. 
Shortly  afterward  came  the  sound  of  footsteps  on 
the  frozen  ground  in  the  courtyard.  The  door-step 
creaked  under  heavy  steps.  What  in  the  world! 
Hans  woke  up  all  at  once  and  sat  up  in  bed. 

"What  is  that?"  he  said. 

"  Hush  !  "  said  Martha. 
Martha  recognized  a  voice.    It  was  the  voice  of  Ole. 

The  door  opened.  Cold  winter  air  rushed  in. 
There  were  steps  on  the  floor.  A  match  flashed 
and  faces  were  seen  in  the  yellow  gleam.  Nils  and 
Knut  were  also  there. 


2OO  God  and  Woman 

"  Let  us  light  the  lamp,"  said  Ole.  They  were 
too  drunk  to  realise  what  they  were  doing.  They 
had  got  the  desperate  idea  into  their  heads  of  throw- 
ing the  master  of  Dyrendal  himself  out  of  bed. 

Martha  and  Hans  lay  quietly  looking  at  these 
drunken  revellers.  They  came  as  if  out  of  the  night. 
It  seemed  useless  to  talk  to  them. 

At  last  Ole  succeeded  in  lighting  the  lamp. 

Nils  and  Knut  were  pale.  They  looked  anxiously 
toward  the  bed  and  tried  to  smile.  They  wanted 
to  show  the  others  they  were  grown  up  and  could 
do  as  they  pleased.  Nils  began  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  floor,  and  was  quite  a  man. 

"Are  we  going  to  throw  you  out  of  bed?"  said 
Ole,  and  came  reeling  toward  them. 

But  this  light  from  the  lamp  made  everything 
look  different.  It  reminded  them  of  the  daytime, 
and  they  lost  their  courage  to  throw  the  master  of 
Dyrendal  out  of  his  own  bed. 

Ole  sat  down  on  the  edge  of  the  bed,  tried  to  be 
friendly,  and  said  they  must  not  be  frightened.  The 
boys  were  merely  celebrating  Christmas.  Hans  and 
Martha  lay  quietly  and  said  nothing. 

Lars  Aasen  had  found  a  hymn-book  and  suggested 
a  new  idea. 

"We  ought  to  hold  a  prayer-meeting,"  he  said.- 
"  We  must  remember  we  are  with  Christian  people." 

"  Yes,  let  us  do  that,"  said  several. 

"  Let  us  hold  a  prayer-meeting,"  all  agreed. 

And  so  these  drunken  men  began  to  play  at 
prayer-meeting  at  three  o'clock  in  the  morning. 


God  and  Woman  201 

The  book-shelf  was  ransacked.  Hymn-books  and 
spectacles  were  brought  out.  Ole  sat  at  the  head 
of  the  table.  He  opened  a  book  which  he  said  was 
a  book  of  sermons  for  family  worship,  but  which  in 
reality  was  Jensen's  school  reader.  He  put  on  a 
pair  of  spectacles.  He  was  large  and  ruddy,  had 
a  black  moustache,  and  a  grey,  bristly  beard — this 
dauntless  ladies'  man  and  night-reveller.  Now  he 
was  about  to  lead  a  prayer-meeting  at  Dyrendal. 

"  Let  us  open  our  meeting  by  singing  hymn  num- 
ber 14,"  he  began. 

"  Now  they  are  going  too  far.  They  make 
mockery  of  the  word  of  God,"  whispered  Hans. 

"  Oh,  I  guess  the  Lord  has  good  sense  and  can 
understand  a  joke,"  Martha  replied. 

These  men  in  homespun  sat  around  the  table, 
their  faces  full  of  pious  devotion.  Most  of  them 
had  beards,  and  rings  in  their  ears.  Their  clothes 
were  still  cold.  Some  of  them  wore  a  tassel  of 
woollen  yarn  dangling  from  a  button-hole — Christ- 
mas boutonniercs,  received  from  some  girl. 

The  hymn  began.  But  it  turned  out  to  be  only  a 
ditty.  It  ran : 

"Olina  slept  so  peacefully, 

Peacefully, 
She  smiled  so  sweet  and  tenderly, 

Tenderly; 
Then  came  a  chimney-sweep  so  fine " 

Yes,  yes — thought  Martha.  These  fishermen, 
who  soon  will  ride  over  the  Lofoten  sea  again  in 
snow-storm  and  frost,  and  perhaps  wrill  call  to  the 


2O2  God  and  Woman 

Lord  for  help  when  they  face  death  upon  the  sea 
some  night — they  seem  to  want  to  make  grimaces 
at  Him,  the  Almighty  One,  now  beforehand.  But, 
in  the  last  moment,  they  lose  their  courage,  no 
matter  how  much  they  have  drunk. 

It  would  have  been  more  jolly  if  they  had  dared. 

The  singing  ended.  Ole  raised  his  eyes  above 
his  spectacles: 

"  Let  us  hear  what  the  Scripture  says,  O  dearly 
beloved  brothers  and  sisters  in  the  Lord !  "  he  said, 
and  began  to  read  from  the  book  of  family  devo- 
tions: 

"  The  City  Mouse  and  the  Country  Mouse :  Once 
upon  a  time  there  was  a  city  mouse  who  made  a 

visit  to  his  relative,  the  country  mouse "  He 

read  the  fable  with  his  eyes  full  of  emotion,  and 
his  voice  quivering  with  piety. 

The  faces  about  the  table  were  weighed  down 
with  sin  and  repentance.  Some  wiped  tears  out  of 
their  eyes.  They  made  grimaces,  at  least  to  one 
another ;  perhaps,  also,  just  a  little  to  heaven.  But 
they  dared  not  do  more  than  that — these  small  souls 
who  would  soon  be  out  in  the  winter  storm  on  the 
sea,  perhaps  facing  death. 

They  sang  another  hymn  with  the  same  solemn 
piety,  dried  their  eyes  again,  and  remained  sitting 
for  a  time  with  their  faces  in  their  hands,  sobbing 
and  sighing. 

"  You  might  like  to  have  a  cup  of  coffee,"  said 
Martha.  She  slipped  on  a  dress  and  got  up. 


God  and  Woman  203 

"  Great  Heavens ! — is  that  the  sort  of  woman  you 
are !  "  said  Ole,  as  he  rose  from  his  seat. 

Immediately  the  rowdies  were  changed  into  a 
crowd  of  good  fellows,  who  were  so  sorry  they  had 
caused  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal  so  much  trouble. 

When  the  gloomy  winter  morning  dawned,  half 
the  floor  in  the  living-room  was  covered  with  men 
who  lay  in  a  row  and  snored. 

Some  had  placed  a  foot-rest  under  the  head, 
others  only  a  hat.  Martha  had  spread  fur  coverlets 
over  them,  which  covered  all  but  their  feet.  There 
was  an  endless  number  of  boots  in  a  row  along 
the  floor,  with  shining  heel-plates  down  and  toes  up. 

The  entire  house  slept. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VII 

IT  was  soon  after  the  New  Year  that  Knut  left 
Dyrendal,  and  it  happened  in  a  way  that  no  one 
could  have  suspected  beforehand. 

There  was  a  snow-storm.  Knut  carried  in  wood. 
He  stamped  his  feet  on  the  door-step  so  as  not  to 
bring  in  snow,  and  went  through  the  kitchen  into 
the  living-room,  where  he  placed  the  wood  behind 
the  stove.  Martha  and  Jonetta  were  carding  wool. 
Hans,  who  was  now  president  of  the  fire  insurance 
company,  sat  at  the  table  with  spectacles  on  his 
nose  looking  through  some  documents.  Mis  was 
dressed  in  his  Sunday  clothes,  and  was  about  to 
make  a  visit  to  his  mother. 

"  We  are  getting  plenty  of  snow,"  said  Knut,  in 
order  to  make  some  remark  before  going  out  again. 

Nils  and  Hans  looked  at  him  in  a  strange  man- 
ner. Martha  was  pale.  No  one  said  a  word. 

"  Do  you  intend  to  walk  or  to  drive?  "  Hans 
asked,  turning  to  Nils. 

"  I  don't  think  I  can  go,"  answered  Nils.  He 
stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room  with  his  hands  in 
his  pockets.  "  Because  I  have  lost  my  money." 

Knut  stopped.  He  felt  sharp  side  glances  from 
all  in  the  room. 

"  Have — have  you  lost  your  money?  "  he  asked. 

204 


God  and  Woman  205 

"  It  is  gone  from  my  purse,  and  the  purse  was  in 
my  pants  pocket  in  the  attic/'  Nils  was  cross.  His 
face  was  red  with  anger. 

"Are  you  sure  you  haven't  lost  your  purse?" 
suggested  Hans,  looking  over  his  spectacles  at 
Knut,  as  if  to  help  him. 

"  The  purse  is  not  lost.  Twelve  crowns  are  gone 
—that  is  all.  They  were  there  yesterday,  but  to-day 
they  are  not  there.  I  don't  suppose  anyone  believes 
the  money  has  left  of  its  own  accord." 

"  But  there  have  been  no  strangers  in  the  house 
since  yesterday,"  said  Knut. 

"  No,"  said  Nils,  and  took  a  couple  of  steps 
toward  him.  "  And  therefore  there  are  not  very 
many  who  could  have  done  it." 

"  I  suppose  I  have  done  it  then,"  said  Knut,  with 
a  smile. 

"  At  any  rate,  I  didn't  do  it."  Nils's  voice 
quivered.  He  could  not  stand  still.  Money,  and 
all  that  was  worth  money  at  Dyrendal — these  were 
no  trifles  for  him. 

"  Well,  then,  I  suppose  I  must  have  done  it," 
replied  Knut,  and  continued  to  smile. 

"You  admit  it,  then?"  All  eyes  were  turned 
toward  Knut.  A  chill  seemed  to  run  through  the 
room.  Nils  approached  a  few  steps  nearer.  At  last 
he  had  the  upper  hand  in  his  struggle  with  his 
enemy.  Now  the  rascal  might  boast  of  his  reading, 
and  make  people  smile  at  his  smart  remarks,  and 
think  he  had  a  good  head.  But  Nils  would  down 
him,  and  keep  him  down. 


206  God  and  Woman 

"  Do  you  admit  it?  "  Nils  asked,  and  raised  Ms 
fist.  Nils  acted  as  if  he  were  the  master  of  Dyren- 
dal  and  needed  no  help. 

It  was  no  small  thing  to  accuse  another  of  being 
a  thief  so  that  all  could  hear ;  but  now  it  was  done,  ' 
and  he  must  not  back  down. 

"  No,  if  it  is  my  last  word."  Knut  grew  pale. 
He  began  to  understand  that  this  matter  was  in 
earnest. 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha — last  word !  You  shouldn't  throw 
away  your  few  pennies  on  books  and  rot  and  fool- 
ishness, then  you  wouldn't  have  to  steal." 

"  Oh,  you  shut  your  mouth !  I  haven't  taken  your 
money." 

"  Be  careful,  or  I'll "    Nils  gripped  Knut  by 

the  collar,  and  raised  his  foot  as  if  to  kick  him.    All 
rushed  up  from  their  chairs. 

"  Be  careful !  Be  careful !  "  Hans  put  away  his 
spectacles  and  came  nearer. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  intend  to  have  you  arrested/'  con- 
tinued Nils.  "  But  hand  me  your  purse.  I  want 
back  what  you  have  stolen." 

"  You  big  fool !  " 

"  Hand  me  your  purse,  and  be  quick  about  it ! " 

Knut  handed  his  well-worn  leather  purse  with 
brass  clasp  to  Nils,  who  tore  it  open.  There  were 
only  a  couple  of  crowns,  and  although  he  searched 
the  two  chambers  carefully  and  felt  to  make  sure 
there  was  nothing  between  the  leather  and  the  lin- 
ing, he  could  not  find  any  more. 

"Well,  did  you  find  the  stolen  money?"  said 


God  and  Woman  207 

Knut,  who  thought  he  had  been  vindicated.  All 
eyes  turned  to  Nils. 

"  Where  do  you  have  it,  then?  Let  me  have  the 
key  to  your  chest?  " 

It  was  an  evil  day  for  both  Nils  and  Knut.  Nils 
ransacked  the  chest.  He  searched  two  letters  which 
Knut  had  received  from  a  certain  girl  across  the 
lake.  He  turned  his  clothes  inside  out.  Hans  paced 
up  and  down  the  floor,  and  mumbled  that  this  went 
too  far.  He  seemed  to  pity  Knut ;  but  the  heir  was 
angry,  and  Hans  could  not  be  sure  who  was  right. 
The  money  was  nowhere  to  be  found. 

Nils  stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room  again. 

"  Wherever  the  money  is,"  he  said,  "  one  thing  is 
certain,  and  that  is,  there  is  a  thief  in  the  house. 
And  there  are  not  many  to  choose  between." 

"  Perhaps  it  will  be  best  for  me  to  pack  up  and 
leave,"  said  Knut,  looking  at  Hans,  then  at  Martha. 

"  It  will  be  best  for  you  to  produce  the  stolen 
money,"  said  Nils,  taking  another  swing  around  the 
room. 

Martha  was  busy  carding  wool.  She  bent  her 
head  down  and  clenched  her  lips.  Hans  stood  at 
the  window  with  his  spectacles  in  his  hand,  and 
looked  from  one  to  the  other. 

Knut  shrugged  his  shoulders,  and  went  out  to 
split  wood  again.  After  a  few  moments  Nils  came 
out  to  him  and  said  arrogantly : 

"  I  only  want  to  tell  you  that  I  do  not  intend  to 
have  you  arrested.  But  you  can  understand,  I  sup- 
pose, that  you  will  have  to  move  away  from  here. 


208  God  and  Woman 

It  is  bad  enough  to  live  in  such  a  house,  even  when 
you  don't  have  to  live  with  thieves." 

Knut  raised  his  axe.  "  If  you  say  that  once 
more " 

"  Oh,  control  yourself,  you  fool !  But  the  master 
and  mistress  have  agreed  that  it  will  be  best  for  you 
to  pack  up  your  belongings  and  leave." 

"  I  haven't  stolen  anything !  "  burst  out  Knut, 
and  sank  down  on  the  chopping-block  sobbing. 

"  No,  of  course  not !  "  sneered  Nils,  and  went  in. 
If  he  had  not  had  his  eyes  opened,  the  thief  might 
have  stolen  everything  in  the  house  some  day.  And 
Hans  was  the  treasurer  of  the  fire  insurance  com- 
pany. 

Knut  was  alone.  It  began  to  dawn  upon  him 
that  he  was  being  driven  away  from  Dyrendal  as 
a  thief. 

And  only  a  week  before  Hans  had  promised  to 
endorse  his  note  at  the  bank  so  that  he  might  attend 
the  teachers'  training  college.  Now  his  plans  came 
tumbling  about  his  head. 

At  dusk  he  came  into  the  living-room  dressed  in 
his  best  clothes  to  bid  good-bye. 

"  So  you  are  really  going  to  leave  us  now,  are 
you?  "  said  Martha,  extending  her  hand  to  him.  "  I 
want  to  thank  you  for  the  time  you  have  been  here. 
We  have  got  on  well  together,  you  and  I." 

The  two  girls  came  in  and  shook  hands  with  him. 
Their  eyes  were  red.  He  had  been  there  so  many 
years — and  who  knew  whether  he  was  guilty. 


God  and  Woman  209 

Kristian  Hang  was  at  the  mill.  Hans  followed  him 
outside,  and  added  a  few  dollars  to  his  wages. 

"  It  may  be  the  money  will  be  found  again,"  he 
said.  "  But  where  are  you  going  now?  " 

"  That  I  don't  know,"  said  Knut,  and  bade  Hans 
good-bye. 

Nils  had  won  again.  But  he  must  run  over  to 
see  his  mother,  and  have  a  talk  with  her  anyway. 
His  whole  body  shivered.  It  was  too  bad — he 
almost  regretted  what  he  had  done;  it  was  dread- 
fully bad.  The  mistress  looked  as  if  she  wanted  to 
trounce  him. 

As  the  evening  shadows  fell  on  this  cold  winter 
day,  Knut  hurried  down  the  hill.  He  carried  his 
little  chest,  or  miniature  trunk,  on  his  shoulder  and 
a  bundle  of  clothes  under  his  arm.  He  remembered 
the  day  his  grandmother  accompanied  him  over  the 
road  the  first  time  he  went  to  Dyrendal.  Now  he 
was  driven  away  as  a  criminal.  Everyone  would 
believe  he  was  guilty.  It  was  best,  therefore,  to 
go  far  away  to  some  place  where  no  one  knew  him. 
There  would  be  no  school  for  him.  Now  he  must 
become  a  Lofoten  fisherman,  or  perhaps  a  shoe- 
maker, or  perhaps  he  must  go  down  altogether. 

He  reached  the  ice.  There  were  patches  of  snow 
here  and  there.  This  was  not  the  shortest  way  to 
his  home;  but  neither  did  he  have  in  mind  to  go 
there.  When  the  frozen  lake  lay  under  his  feet  he 
began  to  hope  the  ice  would  break.  Lights  appeared 
in  the  farm-houses  in  the  yellow  twilight.  At  Lund 
also  there  was  a  light.  There  Pauline,  no  doubt, 


2io  God  and  Woman 

went  in  and  out  and  suspected  nothing.  But  all 
was  over.  To-morrow  they  would  hear  about  it  at 
Lund.  He  saw  no  other  solution  than  the  dark 
waters  of  the  sound.  To-morrow,  perhaps,  they 
would  find  his  hat.  Then  he  would  be  no  more. 

It  was  only  about  a  hundred  steps  to  open  water 
where  the  lake  flows  into  the  sound.  The  ice  was 
grey.  The  open  water  was  black.  He  might  as  well 
hurry  to  the  open  water.  He  had  already  been 
murdered  by  Nils  that  day  at  Dyrendal. 

He  stopped  for  a  moment  and  looked  in  the  direc- 
tion of  Dyrendal.  The  large  buildings  up  there  on 
the  hill  formed  a  dark  mass  against  the  horizon.  It 
was  as  if  the  entire  farm  gathered  into  one  being. 
It  was  the  mistress.  It  was  Martha  herself.  At 
that  moment  a  window  was  lit  up.  It  became  her 
eye.  She  lay  up  there  in  the  darkness  and  stared 
toward  the  yellow  western  sky.  But  what  had  she 
to  do  with  him? 

He  went  on. 

Only  a  few  steps  more,  and  the  ice  would  break. 
Then  the  open  water — then  the  end ! 

Grandmother!  He  halted.  Should  he  not,  at 
least,  tell  her  that  he  was  innocent?  She  would 
believe  him. 

He  turned  toward  the  shore.  Now  the  ice  did 
break  under  him.  He  lay  in  the  ice-cold  water  up 
to  his  arm-pits.  He  tried  to  crawl  up  on  the  ice, 
but  it  broke  several  times  before  he  finally  suc- 
ceeded. The  little  chest  was  safe  on  the  ice.  The 
bundle  of  clothes  was  lost.  Dripping  wet,  he  set 


God  and  Woman  211 

out  westward  in  the  direction  of  the  little  fisher- 
man's cottage  on  the  shore  of  the  fjord. 

He  knew  his  father  was  at  Lofoten.  There  were 
only  women  and  children  at  home. 

"  Jesus  save  us !  What  is  the  matter  with  you — 
you  are  so  pale !  "  said  grandmother,  as  he  stepped 
in. 

He  slept  there  that  night  in  the  same  bed  with 
two  of  the  smaller  children.  The  next  day  his 
grandmother  accompanied  him  a  short  distance  on 
his  way  to  the  steamship  wharf.  He  wanted  to  get 
away  before  the  rumour  had  spread  to  the  hamlet. 
He  was  running  way,  but  he  did  not  know  whither. 

He  bade  his  grandmother  good-bye  out  on  the 
beach.  He  knew  he  would  never  see  her  again. 

The  steamer  ploughed  the  waters  of  the  fjord. 
Knut  stood  on  the  deck  watching  an  old,  bent 
woman  who  was  walking  on  the  beach.  From  time 
to  time  she  would  stop  and  look  toward  the  steamer. 
Now  she  would  have  to  meet  the  rumour  of  his 
crime  alone.  The  steamer  rounded  a  point  of  land. 
The  little  hamlet  was  blotted  out,  as  was  also  the 
group  of  large  houses  on  white  foundations,  nestling 
among  the  hills,  which  was  Dyrendal.  All  disap- 
peared from  view. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  Fill 

THAT  night  he  slept  in  one  of  the  ordinary  peas- 
ants' lodging-houses,  in  the  poorer  section  of  the 
town,  near  the  wharves.  He  had  met  a  couple  of 
acquaintances  from  his  home  parish,  and  imagined 
they  looked  at  him  rather  curiously.  It  became 
clear  to  him  that  he  could  never  in  the  world  return 
to  his  home. 

To-morrow  he  would  find  some  day  labour  or 
take  service  in  order  to  scrape  together  enough  for 
a  ticket  to  America. 

He  felt  cold  under  the  soiled  blankets.  He  was 
at  Dyrendal  again.  He  saw  the  hills  and  mountains 
and  lake  in  a  light  summer  haze.  He  read  A  Happy 
Boy  again.  He  lay  on  his  back  in  the  meadow,  and 
discovered  that  little  everyday  things  are  just  as 
great  and  beautiful  as  what  is  written  in  the  history 
of  the  world.  He  had  tried  to  find  the  beautiful  in 
little  everyday  things — a  wagon,  a  horse,  a  meadow, 
a  leaf,  a  girl.  Now  there  would  be  other  things  to 
do.  He  was  in  a  skiff  on  a  rough  sea.  He  would 
have  to  weather  the  storm  or  go  down.  No  one 
asked  whether  it  was  beautiful. 

Later  in  the  night  he  felt  hot.  Something 
seemed  to  press  him  against  the  wall  and  had  a  grip 
on  his  throat.  He  tossed  about  in  the  skiff  on  the 

212 


God  and  Woman  213 

rough  sea.  A  girl  in  a  blue  dress  refused  to  go 
with  him.  She  stood  on  the  shore  and  made  faces 
at  him.  "  Thief !  "  she  said.  At  last  he  understood 
it  was  the  serving-maid  at  the  lodging-house  who 
stood  beside  his  bed  and  tried  to  awaken  him. 

""  You  must  get  up  so  that  we  can  make  the  bed," 
she  said.  "  You  must  remember  where  you  are, 
and  that  it  is  getting  late/' 

"  The  skiff,"  mumbles  Knut.  "  The  skiff  is  leak- 
ing." 

The  girl  called  the  proprietress,  a  matron  with 
large  hips  and  breasts,  with  her  hair  done  up  high. 
The  two  women  stood  and  looked  at  this  country 
boy  with  light  hair,  a  face  that  was  blood-red,  and 
eyes  that  looked  bewildered. 

"  I  wonder  if  he  is  drunk?  "  said  the  proprietress. 
"  Isn't  it  too  bad — a  mere  child !  " 

"  His  hand  is  very  hot,"  said  the  maid.  "  I  think 
perhaps  he  is  sick." 

"  Well,  then  I  suppose  we  must  let  him  stay  in 
bed  awhile  longer.  But  this  is  not  a  hospital." 

The  day  passed  rapidly  for  Knut.  He  soared 
through  many  lands  and  kingdoms.  He  was  hot 
one  moment  and  cold  another,  and  had  a  bad  taste 
in  his  mouth.  It  seemed  as  if  the  ceiling  tumbled 
about.  Sailors  came  in  and  stamped  in  heavy  hip- 
boots,  threw  one  chest  on  top  of  another  with  a 
dreadful  racket,  smoked  plug  tobacco,  laughed  and 
talked  with  shouts  and  coughs.  Toward  evening 
there  was  a  fight,  and  it  seemed  as  if  the  house  were 
toppling  over  and  the  walls  and  windows  were 


214  God  and  Woman 

being  shaken  down  into  a  heap.  When  at  last  it 
became  quiet  in  the  room,  steps  were  heard  in  the 
street.  They  came  nearer — nearer — more — always 
more.  They  were  policemen  who  came  to  arrest  a 
boy  in  a  lodging-house,  one  Knut  Hamren,  who  had 
been  accused  of  stealing.  Tramp,  tramp — there  was 
no  end  to  the  number  of  policemen.  And  here  lay 
Knut,  burning  hot,  and  could  not  run  away. 

The  next  morning  the  proprietress  brought  him  a 
plate  of  soup.  He  refused  it  and  turned  to  the  wall. 

"  He  doesn't  even  answer  when  you  ask  him  where 
he  comes  from,"  she  said.  "  What  in  the  world  shall 
we  do  with  the  boy?  " 

There  was  the  usual  stir  and  bustle  of  sailors 
coming  in  and  going  out  all  day  long  and  late  into 
the  night.  When  at  last  it  had  become  quiet,  Knut 
sat  up  in  bed  and  stroked  his  forehead. 

"  I  must  get  away  from  here,"  he  mumbled,  "  or 
I  shall  lose  my  wits." 

There  was  a  sound  of  snoring  from  the  other 
beds.  He  was  weak  and  sweaty.  He  could  barely 
stand  on  his  legs  while  he  put  on  his  clothes  and 
pulled  on  his  boots.  He  succeeded  in  opening  the 
door  and  dragging  himself  into  the  street.  It  was 
a  cold  and  clear  winter  night.  The  moon  was  shin- 
ing. Out  there  lay  the  town  with  snow  on  the  roofs 
and  ice  on  the  windows.  Not  a  sound  was  to  be 
heard.  "  The  hospital/'  a  voice  seemed  to  say  to 
him.  He  began  to  walk  and  stagger  hither  and 
thither  through  the  sleeping  town. 

The  frost  cracked  under  his  feet.     The  snow- 


God  and  Woman  215 

plough  had  piled  the  snow  high  along  the  walls. 
Frost  crystals  sparkled  in  the  clear  moonlight. 
Knut  was  cold,  and  perspired  at  the  same  time. 
Where  should  he  go? 

A  shadow  appeared  from  around  a  corner  and 
stopped — a  constable.  He  came  nearer. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  man?  Where  do  you 
live?  You  look  as  if  you  needed  to  get  home.  Or 
do  you  want  to  go  with  me  to  the  police  station?  " 

The  constable  thought  he  was  drunk. 

"  The  hospital — where  is  the  hospital?  "  mumbled 
Knut. 

"  If  that  is  where  you  are  going — why,  it  is  down 
that  street  there."  The  constable  straightened  up. 
He  turned  around  and  looked  at  the  moonlit  fjord. 

Knut  staggered  on.  The  street  was  long.  The 
small  houses  looked  as  if  they  had  sunk  down  in 
the  snow,  and  as  if  the  grey  windows  looked  out 
into  the  moonlit  night  for  help.  He  met  a  number 
of  frost-covered  horses  carrying  harnesses  fitted 
with  silver  buckles.  In  the  sleighs  were  happy  men 
and  women  who  sang.  They  flitted  by  as  if  in  a 
vision.  Knut  thought :  "  To-morrow — to-morrow 
you  will  not  be  alive." 

It  seemed  as  if  the  world  were  dying  all  ab.out 
him.  The  town  that  slept,  the  fjord  that  splashed 
among  the  poles  supporting  the  wharf,  the  houses 
with  their  frosty  eyes,  the  heavens,  the  stars,  the 
moon — all  seemed  to  be  dying  with  him  that  night, 

Knut  pulled  the  door-bell  at  the  hospital.  It 
rang  inside.  A  long  time  passed,  and  the  moon 


216  God  and  Woman 

sailed  through  many  clouds  before  Knut  rang 
again.  Ding-a-ling!  At  last  steps  were  heard.  A 
small  door  at  the  side  of  the  large  front  door 
opened,  creaking  from  the  frost.  The  sleepy  door- 
keeper stood  there  and  shivered.  He  had  merely 
thrown  a  coat  over  his  shoulders. 

"  What  do  you  want  at  this  time  of  night,  man?  " 

"  I  am  sick.    I  want  to  be  taken  in  here." 

"  Have  you  an  order  from  a  doctor?  " 

"No!" 

"  Are  you  able  to  pay?  " 

"  No — yes !  Does  it  cost  a  great  deal  to  be  sick 
in  a  hospital?  " 

"  At  any  rate  you  do  not  seem  to  be  so  sick  but 
that  you  can  wait  until  to-morrow.  And  if  you 
cannot  pay  for  yourself,  you  must  have  an  order 
from  the  poor-master  where  you  live." 

The  door  was  closed. 

Knut  turned  around.  He  sat  down  upon  the 
steps  to  rest.  The  moon  looked  straight  into  his 
face. 

He  began  to  wander  about  again — to  stagger,  as 
if  drunk,  through  the  streets.  You  are  alone,  Knut. 
No  one  cares  to  help  you.  You  must  stay  out  in  the 
cold.  You  must  die  to-night,  alone,  upon  some  door- 
step. 

The  door  of  the  lodging-house  had  remained  open 
since  he  went  out. 

Toward  morning  he  staggered  in,  and  fell  over 
into  his  bed. 


God  and  Woman  217 

A  month  later  he  sat  up  in  his  bed  in  the  same 
lodging-house,  but  in  a  room  upstairs,  to  which  the 
proprietress  had  taken  him.  She  came  in  and  told 
him  he  must  remain  as  a  servant  there  until  he  had 
paid  for  medicine,  doctor,  and  care  which  she  had 
provided  for  him  during  the  time  he  had  been  there 
and  almost  died  from  rheumatic  fever. 

It  took  Knut  six  months  to  pay  the  debt.  He 
helped  the  maids  beat  blankets  and  rugs.  He 
cleaned  the  courtyard  and  carried  boxes  and  barrels 
for  the  little  household.  Often  he  seemed  to  dis- 
cover the  great  and  the  beautiful  in  little  things. 
At  any  rate,  he  whistled  and  sang,  especially  when 
he  was  able  to  send  a  half-pound  of  coffee  and  a 
little  brown  sugar  to  an  old  grandmother  in  a 
fisherman's  cottage  by  the  fjord. 

Often  as  he  went  by  the  barber's  shop  on  the  cor- 
ner, he  would  stop  to  look  at  the  young  men  in 
white  who  stood  there  and  could  pinch  the  nose  of 
even  the  sheriff  himself  while  they  lathered  his  face 
and  shaved  him. 

It  would  be  pleasant  to  have  such  a  big-wig  by 
the  nose  and  brandish  a  razor  over  his  throat.  So 
one  day  Knut  went  inside,  and  was  accepted  as  an 
apprentice.  The  wages  were  larger  than  anyone 
could  expect — four  crowns  a  month,  and  board  and 
lodging — a  kind  of  lodging. 

The  time  passed,  and  Knut  had  to  stand  day  after 
day  and  lather  men's  chins.  He  was  not  permitted 
to  use  the  razor  yet.  But  did  not  Murat  begin  as  a 
stable-boy,  and  still  not  become  discouraged?  He 


218  God  and  Woman 

worked  his  way  up  until  one  day  he  became  King 
of  Naples. 

Knut  felt  lonely  and  homeless  among  these 
strangers.  Many  an  evening  he  stood  on  the  wharf 
and  looked  for  some  familiar  face  from  his  part  of 
the  country  as  the  steamer  came  in.  He  did  not 
dare  to  go  near  and  show  himself  in  the  light,  for 
was  he  not  looked  upon  as  a  thief  at  home? 

The  following  winter  he  became  a  member  of  a 
trades  union,  where  there  were  lectures  and  discus- 
sions about  social  injustice,  and  also  a  library.  This 
was  a  great  experience.  But  a  greater  experience 
still  was  in  store  for  him  when  it  fell  to  his  lot 
to  accompany  the  master  barber  to  the  theatre  to 
change  smooth-faced  actors  into  kings  and  em- 
perors. There  were  free  theatre  tickets.  And  new 
worlds  opened  to  him  with  a  form  of  greatness 
which  he  did  not  know  existed. 

The  old  greybeard  who  had  charge  of  the  library 
in  the  trades  union  hall  often  chatted  with  him, 
and  one  evening  he  said : 

"  You  have  been  the  most  diligent  visitor  here  this 
winter.  Wouldn't  you  like  to  come  behind  the 
counter  and  help  me  evenings?  There  is  too  much 
to  do  for  one  man." 

He  was  talking  to  a  beardless  youth  about  nine- 
teen years  old,  who  had  a  large  curved  nose  and 
wore  a  black  woollen  shirt  without  a  collar.  Knut 
answered  that  he  could  not  do  that  because  he  in- 
tended to  leave  soon. 

"  Leave — are    you    not    learning    the    barber's 


God  and  Woman  219 

trade?  "  asked  the  old  man,  and  turned  the  gas 
flame  a  little  higher. 

"  No,  I  am  sorry  to  say — I  was  discharged." 

"Did  you  cut  your  customers  too  much?" 
chuckled  the  old  man. 

"  Oh,  no ;  but  I  pinched  the  noses  of  the  big- 
wigs too  hard  when  I  lathered  them.  And  the 
master  barber  said  I  would  ruin  his  business." 

The  old  man  smiled.  "  And  what  do  you  intend 
to  do  now?  " 

"  Now  I  am  a  chimney-sweep.  But  soon  I  am 
going  to  America." 

The  old  man  looked  at  him  over  his  spectacles. 

"  Yes,  in  Chicago  there  are  very  tall  chimneys  to 
sweep,  if  that  is  what  you  intend  to  do." 

"  I  have  heard  that  the  theological  school  is  free 
there,"  said  the  young  man,  smiling  and  looking 
rather  embarrassed. 

"  Theological  school !  Well,  well — it  may  be  all 
right  if  you  don't  pinch  people's  noses  too  hard 
again,"  said  the  old  man.  He  smiled  and  extended 
his  hand. 


God  and  Woman  Part  III 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  I 

THE  old  curlew  had  returned.  It  flew  high  above 
the  neighbourhood  the  first  warm  day  in  May. 
When  it  saw  Dyrendal  again,  where  it  had  built  its 
nest  for  many  years  on  the  hill-side  east  of  the 
many  buildings,  it  opened  its  large  curved  beak, 
and  sang  long  and  merrily — "  huit!  huit!  huit!  " 

But  as  the  curlew  came  nearer  it  noticed  there 
had  been  changes  at  Dyrendal.  The  house  was  no 
longer  yellow  but  white,  and  on  the  hill-side,  stump 
and  stone  and  hillock  had  been  cleared  away.  It 
was  now  a  black,  ploughed  field.  Was  the  curlew 
dreaming?  Was  a  man  harrowing  exactly  where  its 
nest  had  been  for  so  many  years?  The  old  curlew 
felt  that  it  had  been  robbed  of  its  home,  and  as  it 
flew  in  large  circles  high  above  the  field,  it  shouted 
angrily — "  twee !  twee !  twee !  " 

It  was  Nils  that  harrowed.  Nils  was  now  a  man 
of  about  twenty-two  years  of  age.  He  was  plump 
and  robust  and  wore  a  small,  light  moustache.  He 
was  cross  and  drove  the  dark  horses  so  hard  that 
they  were  dripping  with  perspiration.  He  had 
taken  off  his  hat,  and  his  greyish-brown  hair  stood 
straight  up. 

"  Gee  up  there,  ponies !  Good  Lord,  we  must 
finish  this  job  some  time !  " 

223 


224  God  and  Woman 

He  wanted  to  visit  his  mother  that  evening,  but 
he  was  not  the  sort  of  person  who  would  leave  his 
work  half  finished.  Since  Kristian  Haug  and 
Jonetta  had  married  and  become  cottagers,  there 
was  only  one  hired  man  at  Dyrendal,  and,  on  that 
account,  Nils  must  work  both  early  and  late.  And 
what  did  he  get  for  all  his  work?  The  hired  man 
received  wages,  but  what  did  Nils  receive?  Nils — 
was  not  he  to  have  everything  after  the  master  and 
mistress — was  not  he  the  heir?  Yes,  that  is  what 
folks  said,  but  Martha  and  Hans  had  never  breathed 
a  word  about  it.  He  had  now  worked  here  as  a 
full-grown  man  several  years,  but  they  had  never 
said  anything  about  wages.  He  was  doled  out  a 
few  shillings  as  spending  money  on  rare  occasions, 
but  that  was  all.  What  was  their  real  intention? 
Time  flies — the  years  pass  very  rapidly.  What  if 
he  should  waste  the  best  years  of  his  youth  here? 
Why  didn't  they  say  something?  Did  they  really 
intend  that  he  should  have  everything  after  they 
were  gone — if  so,  why  didn't  they  put  it  in  writing? 
Many  of  his  companions  had  gone  to  America,  and 
had  become  persons  of  importance,  while  he  was 
building  here  upon  an  uncertainty.  He  was  neither 
master,  son,  nor  hired  man.  Dyrendal  was  not 
his  home.  At  the  same  time,  he  was  not  merely  a 
stranger  here.  It  was  a  mixed-up  affair.  He  could 
not  speak  to  the  master  and  mistress  about  wages 
or  anything  of  that  sort.  In  a  way  he  was  too  close 
to  them ;  in  another  way,  not  close  enough.  They 
were  not  his  employers,  nor  were  they  his  parents. 


God  and  Woman  225 

Of  course,  things  might  have  been  different;  but 
it  was  too  late  to  think  of  that  now.  They  would 
look  at  him  and  he  at  them,  but  there  was  always 
a  certain  distance  between  them.  And  time — time 
was  not  standing  still.  "  Gee-up  there,  ponies,  we 
must  finish  this  job !  " 

At  last  he  stopped  to  let  the  horses  get  their 
breath.  He  surveyed  the  large  piece  of  new  land 
on  the  hill-side  which  had  been  ploughed  last 
autumn — it  must  have  been  at  least  four  acres.  And 
who  got  the  credit?  The  master,  of  course.  He  is 
a  very  energetic  fellow,  that  master  of  Dyrendal, 
folks  would  say.  He — energetic ! 

No,  it  was  when  Nils  returned  from  the  agricul- 
tural college  that  things  began  to  move  around  here. 
And  Hans — yes,  what  can  he  do?  He  can  sit  in  the 
district  corporation,  and  run  around  to  meetings, 
and  read  the  newspapers,  and  sit  around  all  day 
writing  his  name  on  documents  for  this  society, 
and  that  board  of  directors,  and  that  other  execu- 
tive committee — but  you  cannot  break  new  land 
that  way.  And  if  he  ever  came  out  in  the  field  he 
would  make  one  jerk — then  he  would  either  sit 
down  and  smoke  his  pipe  or  go  into  the  house  again. 
Well — that  is  his  affair.  But  then  he  might,  at 
least,  let  Nils  take  charge,  and  not  come  running 
every  little  while  and  give  orders  that  only  meant 
that  Nils  was  wrong.  Of  course,  the  thing  would 
end  in  confusion !  When  Nils  stopped  to  think  what 
this  farm  really  could  be  made  to  yield,  if  he  only 


226  God  and  Woman 

had  his  hands  free,  it  made  him  angry  through  and 
through.  ,j 

The  shadows  began  to  fall.  An  odour  of  rich 
soil  rose  from  the  earth.  The  horses  were  so  warm 
that  steam  rose  from  them.  "  Gee-up  there,  we  must 
finish  this !  Get  up,  Brownie !  " 

As  the  young  man  in  tall  boots  trudged  after  the 
harrow  again,  thoughts  that  he  had  nourished  a 
long  time  came  into  his  mind  and  made  the  world 
look  very  black  to  him.  What  if  it  were  true  that 
they  had  tricked  him  into  coming  here,  without  ever 
intending  that  he  should  be  properly  paid  for  his 
work?  Was  it  their  idea  to  get  one  of  their  own 
relatives  who  would  always  work  and  slave  for 
them  for  nothing?  What  if  it  were  so? 

He  turned  around.  "  Gee-up  there !  "  The  har- 
row bobbed  up  and  down  over  the  furrows.  Then 
came  the  worst  thought  of  all,  which  made  him 
outright  sick:  Suppose  they  did  intend  that  he 
should  have  everything — when  would  that  be? 
How  long  must  he  wait?  They  were  not  sixty  years 
old  yet.  They  might  live  twenty,  thirty,  even  forty 
years.  He  might  be  an  old  man  the  day  Dyrendal 
finally  became  his  property.  Was  he  willing  to 
wait  for  that? 

Then  one  of  them  might  die  and  the  other  marry 
some  young  person.  Then  he  would  stand  there 
a  beggar.  There  was  nothing  in  black  and  white  to 
prove  that  he  was  the  heir  to  Dyrendal. 

"  Get  up,  Brownie !  Twenty  years  from  now,  you 
may  still  work  here  as  a  hired  man,  without  having 


God  and  Woman  227 

saved  up  a  penny.  Well,  well — work  on!  You 
develop  the  farm  so  that  it  becomes  larger  and 
better  each  year,  and  perhaps  a  total  stranger  will 
come  in  and  reap  the  reward.  All  you  get  out  of  it 
is  work.  Get  up  there,  ponies !  " 

And  after  all — will  there  be  much  left  when  they 
are  gone?  They  might  spend  it  all,  bit  by  bit- 
one  shilling  here,  another  shilling  there.  How 
much  they  had  in  the  bank  he  did  not  know.  And, 
after  all,  Hans  was  always  making  some  trip  or 
other,  travelling  first  class  on  the  steamship  with 
the  rich  people,  and  had  a  fine  house  in  town,  and 
spent  money  right  and  left.  One  could  easily  see 
that  he  had  no  thought  of  the  one  who  was  to  be  his 
heir.  He  would  lend  money  to  a  boy  who  wanted 
to  learn  telegraphy,  waste  money  sending  one  of  the 
cottagers  to  the  hospital,  and  they  talked  of  taking 
a  trip  to  Kristiania — the  Lord  only  knows  how 
much  money  that  would  cost.  No  doubt  they  were 
trying  to  manage  so  that  there  would  be  as  little 
left  as  possible.  And  perhaps  you  deserve  to  be 
treated  this  way,  Nils ;  for,  in  a  way,  you  sold  your 
mother  in  order  to  come  here  and  enjoy  all  this 
splendour.  "  Get  up,  there !  "  He  made  a  grimace 
and  went  on. 

The  lowlands  became  dark,  but  the  lake  became 
lighter.  Nils  worked  in  the  blue  twilight.  There 
was  a  bright  half-moon  above  the  mountains  toward 
the  north.  The  black  grouse  sang.  Nils  walked 
slowly  because  the  harrow  was  heavy  for  the  horses 
uphill.  But  he  was  anxious  to  finish  his  work.  He 


228  God  and  Woman 

began  to  whistle,  and  looked  at  the  yellow  evening 
sky  above  the  bluish-green  mountains  in  the  west. 
Then  he  began  to  hum  a  tune.  He  did  not  know 
what  it  was.  It  was  as  if  the  blue  spring  evening 
lent  him  its  own  tune  to  hum. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  II 

THAT  simple  country  folk  should  make  a  long 
journey  down  to  Kristiania  only  for  pleasure  and 
to  mingle  with  the  great  was  something  new.  That 
was  more  than  either  the  minister  or  the  doctor 
could  afford. 

"  But  you  can  well  afford  it,"  said  Peter  Eriksen 
to  the  master.  "  Because,  only  to  mention  what  the 
salmon  have  brought  you  the  last  few  years — but 
perhaps  I  shouldn't  say  too  much  about  that." 

"  Oh,  well,  you  see  we  don't  have  a  flock  of  chil- 
dren to  provide  for,"  said  Hans,  although  Nils  was( 
present  and  heard  what  was  being  said. 

No  one  consulted  Nils  about  the  journey.  He  was 
merely  asked  to  drive  them  to  the  steamer,  and 
their  parting  word  was  to  remember  to  do  this  and 
that  while  they  were  away. 

Those  that  came  to  the  wharf  saw  the  mistress 
of  Dyrendal  start  out  with  a  light  grey  raincoat 
that  reached  down  to  her  shoes.  On  her  head  she 
wore  a  black  silk  kerchief,  the  tip  of  which  hung 
down  her  back.  Yes,  she  went  away  with  that,  but 
wait  until  she  comes  back!  She  could  afford  to 
have  a  hat  with  plumes.  They  would  not  be  sur- 
prised if  she  would  outshine  the  bailiff's  wife  even 
in  that  matter.  She  looked  handsome  and  stately 

229 


230  God  and  Woman 

as  she  stepped  aboard.  Her  hips  and  her  breasts 
had  become  larger,  and  her  red  face  began  to  be 
marked  by  blue  veins,  just  like  rich  folks  after 
they  have  been  eating  rich  food  for  a  long  time. 

They  started  on  their  journey. 

No  doubt  it  would  cost  a  great  deal.  But  it  was 
true  enough — they  did  not  have  a  flock  of  children 
to  provide  for.  And  Nils — yes,  he  was  a  good  per- 
son to  have  around.  Gradually  he  had,  more  and 
more,  taken  charge  of  the  farm.  He  was  industri- 
ous, and  always  looked  after  the  interests  of  the 
master  and  mistress.  But  sometimes  he  managed 
and  domineered  a  little  too  much.  He  was  not  the 
master  of  Dyrendal  yet — oh  no,  not  yet,  exactly. 
And  they  did  not  care  to  say  more  about  it  just 
now.  There  was  no  great  hurry.  He  was  not  suffer- 
ing from  the  want  of  anything.  He  could  have 
food  whenever  he  wanted  it,  and  he  could  come  and 
go,  and  attend  to  any  little  affair  of  his  own  when- 
ever he  pleased.  Furthermore,  they  were  not  ready 
to  fold  their  hands  in  their  laps  and  quit  just  at 
that  moment.  They  were  not  quite  ready  for  that. 
And  if  they  felt  they  could  afford  an  outlay  they 
did  not  consult  anyone  about  it  either. 

They  were  gone  about  two  weeks.  Rumour  of 
their  home-coming  had  preceded  them  by  a  day, 
and  there  were  a  great  many  people  at  the  wharf 
who  were  curious  and  expected  to  see  many  strange 
things  when  Martha  and  Hans  were  rowed  ashore 
from  the  steamer. 

But   they   stepped  ashore  wearing  exactly  the 


God  and  Woman  231 

same  clothes  they  wore  when  they  went  away.  Still, 
they  were  not  quite  the  same.  They  had  another 
bearing.  It  was  as  if  everything  they  looked  upon 
made  them  smile  good-naturedly  because  it  was  so 
small. 

Nils  did  not  come  to  the  wharf  to  meet  them. 
He  had  sent  the  new  herd-boy  with  Whitey  and  the 
gig.  Perhaps,  Nils  thought,  that  was  good  enough. 
Yes,  yes! 

People  did  not  have  the  heart  to  begin  question- 
ing them  the  moment  they  had  stepped  ashore — 
no  doubt  they  had  many  things  to  think  about ;  but 
when  they  were  sitting  in  the  gig,  Olsen,  the  tailor, 
unable  to  contain  himself  any  longer,  shouted  from 
a  distance : 

"  I  suppose  you  saw  John  Sverderup,  did  you?" 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  saw  him  also,"  Hans  answered  smil- 
ing and  snapping  his  whip  at  the  horse. 

If  they  had  not  been  big-wigs  before,  they  surely 
were  now. 

Martha  seemed  to  be  nearer  to  her  husband  than 
ever  before  as  he  sat  there  in  his  blue  coat,  broad- 
shouldered,  his  large  beard  beginning  to  be  streaked 
with  grey,  his  wide-brimmed  plush  hat  no  longer 
able  to  hide  the  moon  on  the  back  of  his  head. 

They  drove  slowly  past  the  farm-houses  on  the 
way.  They  did  not  want  to  appear  as  if  they  were 
putting  on  airs  and  trying  to  show  off  by  driving 
faster  than  other  folks. 

As  they  came  up  the  avenue  leading  to  the  house 


232  God  and  Woman 

they  had  a  new  feeling  of  attachment  for  their 
home. 

Hans  had  once  more  had  his  fill  of  travelling 
around  to  strange  places,  and  it  seemed  good  to 
come  home  again,  especially  as  he  had  no  scores  to 
settle  with  his  wife  this  time.  And  now  Dyrendal 
did  not  seem  to  be  too  big  and  fine  for  them ;  for,  in 
the  first  place,  they  had  now  seen  houses  which 
were  bigger  and  grander,  and,  in  the  second  place, 
they  felt  more  important  than  before. 

"  I  wonder  if  we  shouldn't  clean  up  the  garden 
a  bit,"  said  Hans,  "  so  that  it  doesn't  grow  alto- 
gether wild." 

"  That  is  exactly  what  I  was  thinking  about," 
said  Martha,  "  It  didn't  look  like  that  when  the 
colonel  left  and  we  first  came." 

When  they  had  reached  the  house,  Nils  came  in 
and  said :  "  Great  heavens,  you  must  have  had  a 
grand  time,  and  welcome  back.  " 

At  last  Hans  sat  in  his  own  rocking-chair  again, 
smoked  plug  tobacco  in  his  own  long-stemmed  pipe, 
and  enjoyed  himself  thoroughly.  Cottagers  and 
servants  came  in  for  dinner.  Many  questions  were 
asked,  and  many  things  were  told  to  each  and  all. 

"  Can  you  guess  whom  we  stumbled  on  in  Parlia- 
ment? "  asked  Hans,  looking  at  Nils. 

"  No — was  it  the  King  himself?  "  Nils  sat  a 
little  aside  from  the  rest.  He  acted  as  if  he  were 
more  curious  than  the  others. 

"  It  was  one  who  was  a  herd-boy  here  a  few  years 
ago.  It  was  Knut." 


God  and  Woman  233 

There  was  great  excitement.  Knut — in  Parlia- 
ment! Hadn't  he  gone  to  America? 

"  He  has  returned.  And  now  he  is  in  Parliament 
writing  down  everything  that  is  said  there.  What 
is  it  they  call  it,  Martha?  " 

"  Reporter — no,  wait  a  minute — stenographer/' 
said  the  mistress,  who  was  at  the  other  end  of  the 
room  unpacking. 

"  Yes,  yes — that  is  the  way  it  goes  when  a  person 
has  brains,"  said  Hans,  and  again  looked  at  Mis. 
Nils  returned  his  look — he  had  had  enough  sneers 
about  that  affair  with  Knut. 

"  And  he  invited  us  to  take  dinner  with  him  at  a 
very  fine  place,"  continued  Hans.    "  I  think  he  gives 
lectures  too,  down  south.    But — but  I  am  afraid  he 
is  a  radical — a  socialist."    Hans  shook  his  head. 
f    He  did  not  want  anyone  to  think  he  approved  of 
S  that,  but  youth  is  youth.  Hadn't  he  himself  watched 
his  chance  to  spit  down  from  the  gallery  in  Parlia- 
ment? 

There  was  a  procession  of  neighbours  throughout 
the  day.  Although  the  sacristan  was  a  radical  and 
was  always  fighting  Hans,  nevertheless  he  also 
came  and  wanted  to  know  if  they  had  seen  John 
Sverderup.  And  before  they  knew  it,  in  stepped 
the  bailiff.  Oh,  yes,  there  were  a  great  many  people 
drinking  coffee  in  the  large  living-room  that  eve- 
ning. As  they  sat  there,  a  carriage  drove  up  and  in 
came  a  white-haired  person  of  importance,  wearing 
spectacles.  It  was  none  other  than  the  divisional 
surgeon,  himself.  Think  of  it ! 


234  God  and  Woman 

And  the  great  man  did  not  scorn  to  take  coffee. 

"  I  understand  you  have  visited  the  city  in  which 
I  happened  to  be  born  about  sixty  years  ago,"  he 
said.  "  Tell  me  something  about  Kristiania.  J 
have  not  set  foot  on  her  hallowed  pavements  since 
I  was  a  student.  Did  you  go  to  the  theatre?  Did 
you  see  Laura  Gunderson  in  any  play?  " 

Oh,  no,  the  doctor  must  not  expect  too  much.  But 
another  pleasure  was  in  store  for  him.  It  was  to 
hear  Martha  and  Hans  tell,  in  their  own  way,  about 
the  great  city,  as,  for  instance,  about  their  visit  to 
Parliament. 

"  Yes,  yes — big  men  are  wonderful,"  said  Martha, 
and  smiled  to  herself  because  she  dared  to  speak  of 
such  things  now,  although  the  doctor  was  present. 
"  There  we  sat  in  the  gallery  and  looked  down  at  the 
assembly.  It  is  wonderful  how  big  they  were — 
some  of  them  anyway.  There  was  one — he  was  a 
Cabinet  Minister — I  doubt  if  he  could  squeeze 
through  that  door,  he  had  such  a  big  stomach.  And 
the  radicals" — she  looked  at  the  sacristan — "  they 
talk  about  saving  money  and  treating  everybody 
alike,  but  they  are  not  very  saving — not  when  it 
comes  to  themselves,  at  least;  because  they  are  big 
and  fat — all  those  who  sat  in  Parliament.  And 
how  cross  they  were.  They  stormed  against  one 
another,  and  wrangled  and  quarrelled !  But  there 
was  a  bench  along  the  wall  down  by  the  door  they 
slunk  down  to  when  they  became  too  angry."  Then 
Martha  imitated  the  men  who  sulked,  dragging  her 


God  and  Woman  235 

feet  across  the  floor  and  sitting  down  heavily  on  the 
sofa. 

The  doctor  looked  at  her  above  his  glasses. 
"  Tell  me  more/'  he  said,  and  seemed  to  be  very 
thoughtful. 

Hans  also  took  a  turn  around  the  room.  He  had 
his  long-stemmed  pipe  in  one  hand  and  a  match  in 
the  other.  He  was  conservative,  of  course,  but  he 
must  tell  about  the  time  he  saw  John  Sverderup. 
He  stood  outside  of  the  House  of  Parliament — what 
is  the  name  of  the  street,  Martha? 

"  Carl  John  Street,"  said  the  mistress. 

"  Exactly !  There  he  stood  talking  with  an  ac- 
quaintance, and  as  he  stood  there,  the  small  boys 
began  to  shout  hurrah!  Then  people  began  to 
gather  and  crane  their  necks  and  stare,  and,  con- 
found me,  if  there  wasn't  a  little  fellow — an  insig- 
nificant tousle-headed  little  brownie,  who  had  a 
leather  case  under  his  arm. 

"  *  That  is  the  Prime  Minister,'  said  the  man  I 
was  talking  to.  There  you  saw  John  Sverderup. 
Then  everyone  in  the  street  began  to  shout." 

Hans  stroked  his  beard,  and  to  make  sure  they 
would  understand,  he  would  show  them  just  how  it 
happened. 

"  Here  we  stood — my  friend  and  I — about  here," 
he  said.  "  And  there  came  the  old  man,"  he  con- 
tinued, pointing  to  a  chair.  "  He  wasn't  any 
farther  from  me  than  that  chair  there." 

"  Yes,   and   you   took   off  your  hat,   too,"   said 


236  God  and  Woman 

Martha,  to  show  that  her  husband  had  good  man- 
ners. 

"  But  it  was  funny  what  a  tousle-head  .he  was," 
added  Hans,  trying  to  light  his  pipe. 

"  He  is  a  great  man,"  said  the  sacristan. 

"  A  great  fox,"  said  the  doctor. 

"  How  many  things  one  could  see  in  the  street," 
said  Martha.  "  There  were  women  who  came  walk- 
ing along  with  whips  in  their  hands  and  stiff  hats 
on  their  heads,  just  like  a  man,  and  tall  boots  with 
spurs."  She  thought  they  must  be  liberals,  who 
dressed  that  way  to  show  that  they  were  broad 
minded. 

"  I  guess  they  were  the  scum  of  society,  instead," 
said  the  sacristan,  lighting  his  pipe  over  the  lamp. 

"  Oh,  no,  indeed,  they  were  rich  people,"  Martha 
smiled  to  the  doctor.  To-night  she  had  courage. 

"  Tell  more,"  said  the  doctor,  continuing  to  look 
attentively  at  Martha  over  his  spectacles. 

Nils  sat  in  a  corner  and  was  red  in  the  face.  It 
seemed  to  him  they  had  told  enough. 

The  next  day  Martha  and  Hans  were  each  the 
centre  of  a  group  in  the  churchyard,  and  if  at  that 
time  there  were  any  important  people  in  the  parish, 
Martha  and  Hans  were  those  people. 

Then  one  day  Mis  must  hitch  up  a  horse  for  them 
again.  They  came  out  dressed  in  their  best  and 
climbed  into  the  gig. 

"  Where  are  you  going  now? "  asked  Peter 
Eriksen. 

"  Oh,  we  are  invited  to  the  doctor's  house  to- 


God  and  Woman  237 

night,"  said  the  mistress,  pulling  the  sjiawl  about 
her  as  they  drove  off. 

"  Now  they  are  beginning  to  be  invited  to  the 
houses  of  the  big  people,"  he  said,  and  looked  after 
them  with  profound  respect. 

But  Nils  smiled  out  of  the  right  corner  of  his 
mouth. 

"  I  guess  the  big  man  has  some  reason  for  it,"  he 
said. 

Peter  Eriksen  raised  his  old  eyes  questioningly. 
Nils  continued : 

"  Well,  I  guess,  perhaps,  some  of  those  people 
need  someone  to  go  their  security,  too." 

"  No,  do  you  think  so? "  said  Peter  Eriksen. 
Both  of  them  remained  standing  and  watched  the 
gig  as  it  drove  off. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  III 

TIME  passed.  Mis  was  thrifty  and  took  care  of 
everything  as  far  as  he  felt  that  his  authority  per- 
mitted him.  .  Nothing  was  ever  said  about  his 
position  at  Dyrendal,  or  why  he  was  there.  As 
Martha  and  Hans  grew  older  they  seemed  to  become 
stricter  with  Nils.  Perhaps  they  did  not  realize 
that  they  worried  about  the  day  which,  in  spite  of 
everything  they  could  do,  was  coming  nearer. 
Then,  too,  perhaps  they  thought — "  If  he  is  to  have 
everything  some  day,  he  might  as  well  exert  himself 
a  little  now." 

They  did  not  try  to  be  economical.  Not  many 
who  came  to  Dyrendal  were  turned  away.  No 
doubt  they  thought — "  There  will  be  enough  left 
anyway." 

Nils  must  still,  year  in  and  year  out,  follow 
plough  and  harrow — and  curse.  Many  a  time  he 
felt  like  going  away  for  ever,  but  he  had  rowed  so 
far  out  now  it  was  really  too  late  to  turn  back. 
When  he  looked  at  the  buildings  which  he  had 
helped  to  rebuild,  at  the  new  land  he  had  ploughed, 
at  the  trees  he  had  planted  after  the  devastation 
wrought  by  the  lumber  company  long  ago,  it  was  as 
if  he  had  laid  down  the  best  part  of  his  life  here, 
and  he  felt  that  he  could  not  afford  to  leave  it.  But 

238 


God  and  Woman  239 

the  master  and  mistress  did  not  seem  to  grow  any 
older.  Nothing  ever  ailed  them.  Everything 
might  be  the  same  ten  years — twenty  years  from 
now.  And  here  he  must  build  on  an  uncertainty. 
Hitch  up  the  horse,  Nils,  and  drive  the  master  to 
the  meeting  of  the  district  commissioners.  And  to- 
night, some  time,  you  may  bring  him  home,  and  you 
may  stand  out  in  the  snow-storm  and  wait  until 
the  meeting  is  over.  And  when  the  horse  becomes 
lame,  it  is :  "  Have  you  been  careless  again,  Nils?  " 
Often  master  and  mistress  made  queer  remarks  as 
if  they  were  hinting  at  something.  They  seemed  to 
begrudge  him  his  youth.  Perhaps  they  did  not 
like  the  idea  that,  some  day,  they  would  lie  under 
the  sod,  while  he  would  be  alive  and  be  the  master 
of  Dyrendal.  And  yet,  at  one  time,  they  had 
wanted  him  to  call  them  mother  and  father. 

Perhaps  Nils  was  right  in  not  being  on  intimate 
terms  with  them  any  longer.  When  Hans  and 
Martha  took  walks  into  the  fields  and  meadows  on 
summer  evenings  it  seemed  as  if  Dyrendal  would 
belong  to  them  for  ever.  They  talked  of  all  they 
had  done  here,  how  much  they  had  spent  to  make 
Dyrendal  constantly  better  and  better.  Neverthe- 
less, there  began  to  be  a  tone  of  sadness  in  their 
words  as  they  wandered  about.  It  was  as  if  they 
felt  they  must  soon  sit  down  to  rest.  And  the  per- 
son who  was  to  help  them — to  relieve  them — was 
not  their  own  youth  renewed.  Instead  he  followed 
on  their  heels  and  was  impatient,  and  had  his  claim 


240  God  and  Woman 

in  his  pocket.    Let  him  wait  awhile  at  least — there 
was  no  hurry. 

"  It  will  be  much  easier  for  the  person  who  gets 
Dyrendal  after  us,"  Martha  would  say. 

"  Yes,  indeed — he  will  not  be  pestered  with  inter- 
est and  payments  and  all  that,"  said  Hans.  A  cer- 
tain shyness  seemed  to  prevent  them  from  mention- 
ing the  name  of  Nils  in  this  connexion.  They 
seemed  agreed  to  put  the  whole  affair  aside — there 
was  no  need  of  hot  haste  in  the  matter. 

However,  when  Hans  and  Mis  were  alone  to- 
gether, they  were  often  very  good  friends. 

"  Are  you  going  to  see  your  girl  again  tonight?  " 
the  old  man  would  say.  "  Is  there  never  going  to  be 
anything  between  you  and  the  doctor's  daughter?  " 
Mis  would  become  embarrassed,  and  would  blush 
and  grin. 

Often  Hans  would  go  about  quietly,  as  if  taking 
,    the  measure  of  this — son.     If  he  had  really  been 
your  own  boy,  Hans,  he  would  have  been  a  different 
\     sort.    Industrious — yes!    And  reliable — yes!    And 
careful  with  his  money — good  Lord !     And  no  non- 
sense with  women  and  liquor — hem,  no,  of  course ! 
But  youth  is  youth.     Hans  himself  went  about  with 
a  large  grey  beard,  but,  even  to-day,  he  felt  like  kick- 
ing the  ceiling. 

i       Mis — hem!     His  son — his  own  son  would  have 
)  played   a  tune  for  a  different   sort   of   dance  at 
Dyrendal. 

One  winter  Nils  had  pneumonia,  and  it  was 
doubtful  that  he  would  get  well.  Many  a  long 


God  and  Woman  241 

night  Martha  and  Hans  sat  at  the  bedside  and 
hadn't  the  courage  to  look  at  one  another.  They 
understood  now  what  Nils  meant  to  them.  Once 
more  it  began  to  seem  as  if  Dyrendal  were  not  se- 
cure, but  might  begin  to  slide  down  the  hill.  They 
were  old  now.  They  dared  not  be  left  alone. 
Again  and  again  Hans  must  hitch  up  the  horse  and 
drive  through  snow-storm  and  darkness  to  fetch  the 
doctor. 

It  was  not  often  that  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal 
cried,  but  when  the  doctor  stood  at  the  bedside  one 
day  and  said  there  was  now  hope  of  his  recovery,  she 
could  not  bear  up  any  longer,  and  began  to  cry. 

Nils  began  to  improve.  Now  there  was  one  who 
was  constantly  near  him,  waiting  on  him.  He  must 
have  the  best  of  everything  in  the  house.  Isn't  it 
strange — this  time  she  did  not  think  of  herself,  but 
only  of  him.  She  was  good  to  him,  although  she 
knew  he  was  all  the  time  wishing  they  would  send 
for  his  real  mother.  That  she  must  become  used 
to  anyway,  some  day.  She  must  give  up  expecting 
that  she  will  ever  be  more  to  Nils  than  the  mistress 
of  Dyrendal. 

Summer  came  at  last.  Hans  was  attending  a 
meeting  of  the  electors,  and  this  time  he  came  very 
near  being  sent  to  Parliament. 

Hans  commanded  a  certain  respect  when  he  rose 
in  a  gathering  of  people  to  speak.  It  was  as  if  the 
entire  country-side  through  him  expressed  its 
opinion. 

To  be  sure,  there  were  a  few  who  remembered  him 


242  God  and  Woman 

from  the  days  when  his  visits  to  town  usually  ended 
at  the  police  station;  but  it  was  at  a  very  solemn 
meeting  for  the  nomination  of  candidates  that  he 
became  impossible.  He  walked  over  to  the  very 
dignified  district  judge  and  roared  that  he  would 
take  him  across  his  knee  and  give  him  a  spanking 
if  he  did  not  hold  his  tongue. 

And  when  he  began  to  understand  that  that  lost 
him  his  chance  to  go  to  Parliament,  Hans  experi- 
enced an  old-time  glorious  thrill.  Once  more  a 
herring  catch  went  to  sea — hurrah ! 

But  Martha — he  must  get  Martha  to  believe  that 
wicked  people  had  been  busy  again  with  poison  and 
mean  political  tricks.  When  he  stepped  ashore  on 
the  little  wharf  at  home,  wearing  a  grey  tall  hat, 
and  having  a  raincoat  over  his  arm  and  an  umbrella 
in  his  hand,  he  looked  a  good  bit  like  a  big-wig. 

What  could  this  mean?  Martha  herself  had 
come  to  meet  him. 

"  Now  she  is  angry  because  I  was  not  elected  this 
time  either,"  he  thought,  when  he  saw  how  pale  she 
was. 

But  when  the  gig  reached  that  part  of  the  road 
which  leads  through  the  woods  he  learned  that  this 
time  there  was  trouble  of  another  sort. 

"  Let  us  sell  the  farm,  Hans,"  she  said  abruptly, 
and  looked  straight  before  her. 

What  did  she  say — part  with  Dyrendal — sell  the 
place?  He  fixed  his  eyes  upon  her  and  pulled  the 
reins  tight. 


God  and  Woman  243 

"  Yes,"  she  continued,  "  because  I  do  not  want  to 
be  a  dairy-maid  here  any  longer." 

He  smiled.  "  Now,  that  is  what  I  have  been  say- 
ing these  many  years.  But  it  is  not  necessary  that 
you  should  be  dairy-maid." 

"  And  you  are  certainly  rich  enough  now  so  that 
you  can  live  on  your  money.  Why  should  you  stay 
here  and  worry  and  have  only  strangers  about 
you?" 

"  What  about  Nils  then?  "  He  chewed  his  beard 
and  gave  her  a  side  glance.  The  word  had  been 
spoken.  Now  they  could  not  put  this  matter  aside 
any  longer. 

"  Nils,  yes !  "  she  sneered.  "  If  he  has  money  he 
can  buy  the  place  as  well  as  another." 

He  lowered  his  voice  when  at  last  he  answered : 

"  You  must  not  talk  that  way,  Martha.  That 
was  not  the  understanding  when  we  took  the  boy." 

"  No,  of  course  not,"  she  continued  sneeringly. 
"  But  neither  has  it  turned  out  as  we  expected  at 
that  time." 

"  Has  he  returned  from  the  army?  "  asked  Hans. 

"  No,  indeed,  he  has  not.  He  should  have  been 
home  yesterday.  We  sat  up  until  after  midnight 
waiting  for  him.  But,  no  doubt,  he  has  gone  to  his 
home." 

"  His  home — his  home  is  here,  I  suppose,  is  it 
not?" 

"  No,  his  home  has  never  been  here,  and  it  never 
will  be,  either." 


244  God  and  Woman 

"  Have  they  started  haying?  "  he  asked  after  a 
pause. 

"  No,  how  could  you  expect  that?  There  is  no 
master  at  Dyrendal.  And  that  is  the  reason  I  think 
we  might  as  well  sell  out  and  have  done  with  it." 

The  mistress  had,  no  doubt,  had  a  bad  night  again 
while  waiting  for  Nils  and  raging  against  her  sister 
for  constantly  pulling  him  away  from  Dyrendal. 
In  comparison  with  that,  everything  seemed  of 
small  importance,  even  the  fact  that  he  had  failed  to 
be  elected  to  Parliament. 

They  drove  past  several  farms  where  mowing 
machines  hummed  in  the  meadows.  When  they 
came  to  Dyrendal  no  work  was  being  done.  It  was 
true  enough — a  master  was  needed  here,  and  Hans 
himself  had  so  many  other  things  to  attend  to. 

They  sat  up  late  that  night  waiting  for  Nils. 
Hans  smoked,  Martha  knitted,  and,  now  and  then, 
one  of  them  would  go  to  the  window. 

"  No,  I  say  as  I  said  before — we  ought  to  sell  and 
move  away  from  here,"  said  Martha. 

"  Oh,  you  don't  mean  that."  Hans  took  the  pipe 
out  of  his  mouth  and  knocked  out  the  ashes. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  I  mean  every  word  of  it.  In  town 
we  could  live  like  well-to-do  people,  and  not  be  for 
ever  bothered  with  either  servants  or  animals." 

"  And  when  we  become  old  so  that  we  cannot  take 
care  of  ourselves  any  more " 

"  Then  we  can  pay  our  way  into  an  old  age 
home." 


God  and  Woman  245 

"  Huh !  "  said  Hans,  and  stretched  out  in  the  rock- 
ing-chair. 

For  a  moment  they  sat  there  considering  the 
matter.  They  saw  themselves  as  old  and  infirm,  in 
a  bare  room  at  a  large  public  institution,  a  home  for 
the  aged,  filled  with  old  people  who  were  strangers 
to  them.  And  when  they  were  no  longer  able  to 
take  care  of  themselves,  they  must  be  taken  care  of 
by  people  who  were  total  strangers,  and  who  had 
many  others  to  look  after.  That  would  be  different 
from  being  the  master  and  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal. 

"  Oh,  no,  I  guess  we'll  stay  here,"  said  Hans,  as  if 
to  settle  the  matter.  "  But  we  cannot  go  on  for 
ever  in  this  indefinite  way.  We  must  have  an  un- 
derstanding with  Mis." 

She  was  not  willing  to  yield  immediately. 

"  Do  you  know  what  kind  of  a  woman  he  will 
bring  to  Dyrendal?  "  she  protested. 

"  No,  I  do  not.  But  we  must  allow  the  boy  to  get 
married,"  said  Hans  smiling. 

"  Yes,  then  there  wrill  be  two  strangers  to  care 
for  us  here.  That  will  not  be  much  better  than  at 
an  old  age  home." 

At  that  moment  three  gigs  came  rattling  along 
the  road  on  the  hill-side.  In  the  first  gig  sat  a  tall 
and  erect  sergeant  in  uniform.  In  the  two  others 
were  drunken  soldiers  in  civilian  clothes,  red  in  the 
face,  singing  and  shouting.  One  of  them  was  Mis. 
Others  shambled  along  beside  the  wheels.  Now 
and  then  a  bottle  went  the  rounds.  After  a  good 
drink,  each  in  turn  stood  up  in  a  grand  manner  and 


246  God  and  Woman 

shouted  an  order  in  imitation  of  some  officer  or 
other  at  manoeuvres. 

"Salute  the  flag!" 

"  Good  work,  Fourth  Company ! "  Nils  lisped, 
mimicking  the  Colonel. 

Then  they  all  sang,  and  clung  to  the  gigs  as  well 
as  they  could.  The  sergeant,  who  sat  in  the  first 
gig,  was  red-eyed,  but  he  was  trim,  and  he  smiled. 

They  had  been  on  the  way  a  long  time.  They  no 
longer  remembered  how  long,  or  why. 

The  first  rays  of  the  sun  appeared  behind  the 
mountains  in  the  east.  Bottles  came  out  again. 
Mis  called  halt,  and  commanded : 

"  Company,  fall  in  for  refreshments — hurrah ! 
Good  work,  Fourth  Company !  " 

"Salute  the  sun!"  someone  shouted,  and  pre- 
sented arms,  using  his  bottle  as  a  gun. 

When  Hans  and  Martha  arose  the  next  morning, 
they  understood  from  the  maids  that  something  was 
wrong.  Martha  went  out  to  see  about  it.  There 
stood  Nils  in  the  centre  of  the  courtyard,  his  hat 
over  one  ear,  a  stick  over  his  shoulder,  which  he  pre- 
tended was  a  gun. 

"  Halt,"  he  commanded.  "  Who  goes  there ! 
Come  forward  and  give  the  watchword !  " 

Hans  came  out.  He  was  in  his  shirt-sleeves. 
His  vest  was  unbuttoned.  When  he  noticed  Nils, 
he  stopped  to  look  at  him.  He  walked  around  the 
fellow,  who  stood  there  and  imagined  he  was 
drunk.  That  was  something  worth  seeing.  He  put 
his  hands  in  his  pockets  and  stepped  aside.  Then 


God  and  Woman  247 

he  walked  around  him  in  a  circle  again.  How,  in 
the  Lord's  name,  did  Nils  look  when  he  was  drunk? 

"  Halt !  Who  goes  there !  Give  the  watchword 
— you  too — you  old  don !  "  Nils  was  fairly  steady 
on  his  legs.  He  looked  very  stern,  and  gesticulated 
with  his  make-believe  gun. 

"  Take  him  in  the  house,"  said  Martha,  for  she 
saw  the  girls  in  the  kitchen  window. 

But  first  Hans  must  see  how  the  heir  looked  when 
he  was  drunk.  Had  he  kissed  the  mistress  on  the 
mouth,  or  put  his  back  against  the  stabur  and 
toppled  it  over,  or  taken  a  good-sized  pig  under  each 
arm  and  danced  around  the  courtyard,  it  would 
have  amounted  to  something.  That  might  have 
been  called  having  a  good  time.  But  to  stand  there 
and  drivel  and  beat  the  air  with  a  stick — does  that 
mean  being  drunk? 

"  Go  in  and  go  to  bed,"  Hans  said  at  last,  and 
walked  over  to  him.  Nils  became  strangely  meek 
and  obedient  when  he  noticed  Hans  had  laid  his 
hand  on  the  stick. 

Nils  slept  throughout  the  day.  When  the  master 
and  mistress  went  to  bed  he  was  still  sleeping. 

"  What  is  going  on  in  the  attic?  "  asked  Hans,  as 
he  lay  beside  his  wife  smoking. 

"  Oh,  that  is  Karen.  I  have  told  her  to  pack  up 
and  leave." 

Hans  took  his  pipe  out  of  his  mouth,  raised  him- 
self on  one  elbow,  and  stared  at  his  wife. 

"  Have  you  driven  Karen  away  from  Dyrendal?  " 


248  God  and  Woman 

"Yes,  you  don't  seem  to  notice  anything,  so 
there  is  no  need  of  talking  about  it." 

"  But  what  has  she  done  that  is  wrong?  " 

"You  haven't  noticed  her  sneaking  around  and 
trying  to  be  nice  to  Nils?  And  Nils,  like  a  fool,  will 
perhaps  marry  her.  I  suppose  you  think  it  would 
be  grand  to  have  her  become  the  mistress  here,  so 
that  some  day  we  would  be  compelled  to  beg  a  bit 
of  bread  from  our  former  maid." 

After  some  time  Hans  lay  down  again. 

"  This  seems  to  me  to  foreshadow  something 
dreadful,"  said  Hans.  "What  ails  you  women?" 

"  This  ails  me,  Hans,  that  I  have  thoughts  for  the 
future — for  the  time  we  have  left.  You  have  your 
silly  politics  and  your  newspapers  and  meetings. 
But  you  can  see  very  well  that  other  times  are  com- 
ing for  both  of  us." 

The  following  morning  Nils  was  up  before  the 
others ;  very  likely  he  had  been  talking  with  Karen 
outside.  When  he  came  in  his  face  was  flushed  and 
he  asked  for  something  to  drink. 

Martha  had  not  slept  well  and  was  not  in  a  good 
humour. 

"  Haven't  you  had  enough  to  drink  yet,  Nils?  " 
she  snarled  at  him,  while  lacing  her  shoes. 

"  I  suppose  we  ought  to  begin  haying  to-day," 
Hans  hastened  to  say,  arranging  his  suspenders. 

Nils  was  cross.  He  stood  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  with  his  hands  in  his  pockets. 

"  It  seems  no  one  can  begin  anything  unless  I  am 
here  to  take  hold." 


God  and  Woman  249 

The  air  in  the  room  became  charged.  A  storm 
was  threatening. 

"  You  think  you  have  a  hard  time  here,"  con- 
tinued Martha. 

And  when  she  noticed  that  Hans  opened  his 
mouth  to  help  Nils,  she  rose  from  her  chair  and  said 
for  the  benefit  of  both : 

"  But  I  think  we  have  enough  with  one  drunkard 
here.  We  certainly  do  not  need  two." 

Hans  plumped  down  on  a  chair.  Nils,  who  was 
angry  already,  took  a  step  toward  the  mistress  and 
said: 

"  I  am  glad  that  it  has  finally  slipped  out.  Now 
I  want  to  tell  you  something.  It  was  not  I  who 
forced  myself  upon  you — and  if  you  feel  that  I  am 
a  disgrace  to  you,  Martha,  that  can  be  very  easily 
remedied.  Good-bye!  I  am  going." 

With  that  he  started  for  the  door.  Martha 
could  not  control  herself.  As  a  parting  word  she 
said: 

"  Oh,  I  think  you'll  find  your  way  back  again 
when  you  have  had  a  talk  with  your  mother." 

"  Martha,"  said  Hans,  rising  from  his  chair. 
"  Martha,  you  are  completely " 

"  Oh,  nonsense !  If  you  agree  with  him,  you 
might  as  well  pack  up  and  go — you  too.  Then 
we'll  sell  the  place  and  divide  the  money.  You  go 
your  way  and  I'll  go  mine.  You  have  never  been 
anything  but  a  horse  trader  and  a  scoundrel,  any- 
way." 

She   walked   back   and   forth   across   the   floor, 


250  God  and  Woman 

and  clenched  her  fists  and  raged.    What  ailed  the 
woman? 

Steps  were  heard  in  the  hallway ;  then  the  outside 
door  slammed.  Hans  saw  through  the  window  that 
it  was  Nils,  who  went  away  in  his  Sunday  clothes. 
It  was  because  he  stood  in  such  awe  of  Martha  that 
he  did  not  immediately  run  after  Nils  and  try  to 
persuade  him  to  come  back. 

"  Well,  now  you  have  done  something  both  of  us 
will  regret,"  he  said,  terrified. 

Martha  sneered.  .  \ 

"  Stuff  and  nonsense !     The  crow  never  flies  so  \ 
far  that  it  cannot  find  its  way  back  to  its  feeding-/ 
ground.     He  is  not  related  to  my  brothers  for  noth- 
ing." 

She  went  to  the  kitchen  and  began  to  create  a 
disturbance  among  the  maids. 

The  heir  of  Dyrendal  had  gone  away.  The  over- 
seer had  gone  away.  The  son  had  gone  away. 

Then  came  evil  days.  Hans  tried  to  get  the  hay- 
ing under  way.  But  he  was  not  the  same  man  in 
the  field  as  formerly.  Even  if  it  was  only  a  matter 
of  the  mowing  machine — Nils  was  the  only  person 
who  understood  it  and  knew  how  to  use  it.  Hans 
no  longer  took  pleasure  in  manual  labour.  And  he 
forgot  one  moment  what  he  had  ordered  to  be  done 
the  moment  before.  He  could  tell  from  the  eyes  of 
the  work-people  that  things  were  going  badly.  He 
scolded  and  stormed,  but  it  was  of  no  avail.  It 
ended  by  his  leaving  the  field  in  disgust. 


God  and  Woman  251 

Martha  and  Hans  would  sit  in  the  living-room 
for  hours  together  without  saying  a  word. 

Nor  was  it  an  easy  matter  for  them  to  sleep. 
They  would  lie  awake  during  the  night  and  sigh 
quietly.  What  would  now  become  of  them? 

Martha  realized  that  she  had  been  impossible. 
But  lately  it  was  as  if  a  new  sense  of  the  future  had 
awakened  in  her.  A  storm  may  announce  itself  by  j 
rheumatism  in  the  toe.  Martha  had  a  feeling  in  her 
mind — a  presentiment — that  other  days  were  in 
store  for  them.  They  had  reached  the  height  of 
their  prosperity. 

What  you  have  been  fearing,  what  you  have  re-  \ 
fused  to  see  for  a  long  time,  that  you  can  no  longer 
push  aside.     If  you  have  not  known  before  that  you    r 
are  childless,  you  shall  soon  know  it  now.     Nils — 
Nils  is  one  life  more  to  his  own  mother ;  but  to  you 
and  Hans  he  is — oh,  you  might  as  well  say  it  right  | 
out — he  is  a  bird  of  prey  who  follows  you  and 
watches  you  and  waits  for  you  to  drop.     To  him  you 
are  worn  out.     You  might  as  well  admit  it  to  your-  j 
self  at  last. 

And  you  try  to  defend  yourself  before  you  have     V 
been  completely  overcome.     That  is  foolish,  per- 
haps.    It  only  makes  things  worse.     That  which  is 
to  happen  will  happen. 

Martha  would  wring  her  hands,  but  she  was  able 
to  do  no  more.  She  was  powerless.  She  had  given 
up.  She  was  tired — tired — oh,  so  tired  that  she 
had  hardly  energy  enough  to  live. 

But  can't  you  try  to  have  hope,  Martha!     You 


252  God  and  Woman 

see  only  the  dark  side  of  it.  Nils  was  sometimes 
very  kind. 

Try  a  little  to  look  at  the  bright  side.  After  all, 
that  is  your  only  salvation.  An  old  age  home — the 
Lord  preserve  us  from  that.  Mis — don't  you  take 
pride  in  him,  after  all?  And  if  you  wish  to  end 
your  days  at  Dyrendal,  is  there  anyone  else  to 
whom  you  would  rather  trust  yourself  than  Nils? 

During  the  following  days  both  Hans  and  Martha 
would  go  to  the  window  from  time  to  time  and  look 
down  the  road ;  but  Nils  did  not  come. 

They  went  about  surrounded  by  strangers.  They 
felt  that  they  were  getting  old.  Now  they  were 
responsible  for  the  entire  management  of  the  farm, 
and  it  weighed  heavily  upon  them.  And  the  future 
— their  old  age :  of  that  they  knew  nothing. 

One  day  Hans  said : 

"  You  may  say  what  you  like,  Martha,  but  to-day 
I  intend  to  drive  over  and  bring  Nils  back." 

Martha  was  pale.  She  did  not  sneer.  She  only 
said  quietly : 

"  Yes,  yes — creep  to  the  Cross." 

Hans  drove  off.  He  felt  that  Martha  agreed  with 
him. 

The  mistress  of  Dyrendal  went  often  to  the  win- 
dow and  looked  down  the  road.  For  the  third  time 
the  master  of  Dyrendal  had  gone  a-begging  to  bring 
home  an  heir. 

It  was  so  humiliating  that  she  felt  like  weeping. 
But  she  must  bow  to  the  inevitable — even  if  it  hurt. 

She  sat  for  hours  at  a  time  on  a  chair  in  the 


God  and  Woman  253 

living-room  and  stared  straight  ahead.  As  time 
passed  she  began  to  fear  that  Nils  had  gone  farther 
away  than  to  his  mother's  home.  What  if  he  had 
gone  to  America? 

She  became  more  humble.  She  was  ready  to  sub- 
mit to  these  heavy  blows  without  a  word.  She 
remembered  when  Nils  was  sick.  He  lay  there  in 
his  bed  and  thought  only  of  another  woman.  Still, 
she  had  conquered  herself  and  been  kind  to  him, 
without  expecting  anything  in  return. 

It  was  this  she  must  teach  herself  to  do  once 
more. 

Nils  would  bring  home  a  woman  who  had  suc- 
ceeded in  winning  his  heart,  as  she  had  not  been 
able  to  win  it.  She  must  try  to  be  kind  to  her  also. 
She  must  try. 

That  will  be  the  end,  Martha.  Your  life  contains 
no  more.  Soon  it  will  be  over.  All  will  be  over. 

After  a  long  period  of  waiting,  Hans  and  Nils 
drove  up  to  Dyrendal. 

Martha  stood  stiffly  behind  a  curtain.  When 
Nils  came  in  she  said  good  day,  extended  her  hand 
to  him,  and  said : 

"  You  are  welcome  back,  Nils."  She  could  say 
no  more.  She  sank  down  on  a  chair  and  tried  to 
smile. 

Hans  followed  Nils  into  the  room. 

"  Yes,  Nils  and  I  have  agreed  that  he  is  to  take 
charge  of  the  farm  next  autumn,"  he  said.  "  And 
if  you  want  to  have  it  in  writing  immediately, 
why " 


254  God  and  Woman 

"  No,  no,"  declared  Nils,  becoming  red  with  em- 
barrassment, "  There  is  no  hurry  about  that.  But 
I  did  want  an  understanding  so  that  I  might  know 
where  I  stand." 

"  No  one  ever  thought  anything  else/'  said 
Martha,  drying  her  eyes. 

"  Perhaps  it  might  be  best  to  have  an  understand- 
ing about  another  matter,"  suggested  Hans,  looking 
from  one  to  the  other. 

"  Yes,"  said  Nils,  more  embarrassed  than  ever. 
"  It  is  this,  that  I — that  I  am  sort  of  supposed  to  be 
engaged " 

Martha  rose  from  her  chair  abruptly. 

"  Who  is  it?  "  she  said,  her  eyes  fixed  upon  him. 

"  She  is  a  good  girl,"  said  Hans,  making  prepara- 
tions to  light  his  pipe. 

"  She  is  the  daughter  of  the  sacristan  over  in 
Vassby  parish,"  said  Nils. 

"  Oh— that  liberal ! " 

"  Well,  that  can't  be  helped,"  said  Hans,  striking 
a  match.  "  But  she  is  a  good  girl." 

"  And  you  have  not  told  us  about  it,"  said  the 
mistress  reproachfully. 

"  Everything  has  been  so  uncertain,"  said  Nils. 
"  But  I  suppose  we  can  get  married  soon,  now." 

"  Yes,  of  course,  if  you  are  to  have  a  farm  you 
must  have  a  wife,"  smiled  Martha,  constantly  dry- 
ing her  eyes. 

When  Nils,  after  haying  was  over,  was  about  to 
visit  his  sweetheart,  Hans  said : 


God  and  Woman  255 

"  You  must  greet  her  from  us  and  invite  her  to 
come  over,  so  that  we  may  meet  her." 

"  Yes,  you  must  surely  do  that,"  said  Martha. 

But  though  Nils  went  several  times,  he  did  not 
bring  her  to  Dyrendal. 

"  It  looks  as  if  your  sweetheart  did  not  care  to 
become  acquainted  with  us,"  said  the  mistress. 

"  Well,  she  is  so  shy,"  replied  Nils. 

Martha  smiled. 

"  I  suppose  she  is  afraid  of  me,"  she  said.  "  But 
you  may  greet  her  from  me  and  say  that  some  folks 
are  not  quite  as  bad  as  their  reputation." 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  IV 

THUS  is  happened  that  early  in  the  autumn  Kristian 
Haug  travelled  over  the  neighbourhood,  with  his 
coat  over  his  arm  and  his  hat  in  his  hand,  inviting 
folks  to  come  to  the  wedding  at  Dyrendal.  It  was 
not  for  nothing  that  he  had  served  the  master  and 
mistress  these  many  years.  He  was  also  entrusted 
by  the  host  and  hostess  to  serve  as  master  of  cere- 
monies at  the  wedding,  and  to  have  charge  of  the 
refreshments. 

Martha  began  a  general  house-cleaning,  so  that 
the  house  would  be  in  good  order  when  the  new 
mistress  should  come.  This  would  be  the  last  time. 
She  would  sigh  from  time  to  time  and  sit  down  to 
rest.  Were  not  these  bright  rooms,  and  this  furni- 
ture she  had  scraped  together — were  not  all  these 
things  her  belongings?  Was  she  compelled  to  give 
away  all  this  now?  What  compelled  her  to  do 
that?  It  was  this  strange  thing — that  her  time  had 
come.  You  were  young  yesterday,  Martha,  and  to- 
day you  are  old.  You  imagined  that  everything 
was  paid  for,  and  that  you  owned  the  farm  and 
everything  upon  it ;  but  the  fact  is,  you  have  been 
only  a  tenant  here,  and  now  your  time  is  up.  What\ 
you  have  collected  is,  no  doubt,  a  part  of  your  life,  ' 
and  now — yes,  yes — that  is  the  way  of  it — we  die  bit  j 

256 


God  and  Woman  257 

by  bit — a  little  at  a  time.  Now  it  is  your  turn. 
You  and  Hans  are  beginning  to  die. 

Eevolt  arose  in  her  mind,  but  she  conquered  it  im- 
mediately. You  must  submit,  Martha.  You  can- 
not escape  any  way.  As  she  went  about  her  duties 
she  prayed  quietly : 

"  Oh,  God,  help  me  to  be  good  and  kind  toward 
her,  who  is  now  about  to  begin  her  life  here  after 
me.  She  is  young,  poor  girl,  and  perhaps  worries 
most  about  how  she  is  going  to  be  able  to  get  along 
with  me." 

Grey  haired  and  freshly  starched,  Martha  stood 
beside  Hans  on  the  doorstep  of  Dyrendal  one  day 
when  a  gi%  and  a  load  of  household  goods  swung 
up  to  the  house. 

A  young  woman,  pale  and  light  haired,  sat  in  the 
gig  beside  Mis.  She  smiled  anxiously  as  the  mas- 
ter and  mistress  approached  to  bid  her  welcome  to 
Dyrendal. 

When  she  had  been  helped  down  from  the  gig, 
she  placed  her  hand  above  her  eyes  and  looked 
around.  This  unaccustomed  view  over  the  neigh- 
bourhood in  all  directions  was  too  much,  coming, 
as  it  did,  all  at  once.  When  she  entered  the  house 
she  sat  down  near  the  door  like  the  stranger  she 
was.  It  was  not  until  she  had  partaken  of  coffee 
and  food  that  she  removed  her  kerchief  and  cloak 
and  asked  if  there  was  anything  she  could  do  to 
help. 

"  Now,  if  you  will  come  with  me,  I  should  like  to 
show  you  the  house,"  said  Martha. 


258  God  and  Woman 

The  younger  woman  looked  at  Nils  as  she  was 
about  to  follow.  Martha  smiled  and  added: 

"  Oh,  you  don't  need  men  folks  to  protect  you.  I 
don't  intend  to  bite  you." 

When  the  women  had  left  the  room,  Hans  came 
over  to  Nils  and  said : 

"  That  is  a  fine-looking  girl  you  have  captured. 
What  is  her  name — Olina?  " 

"  Yes,  must  I  tell  you  once  more — her  name  is 
Olina." 

"  Well,  she  may  be  a  pretty  good  girl  for  all  that," 
Hans  continued  jokingly. 

"  There  is  no  doubt  she  will  do,"  Nils  replied, 
smiling. 

During  the  following  days  there  was  a  great 
bustle  at  Dyrendal  in  making  preparations  for  the 
wedding.  Even  Olina  went  about  with  her  sleeves 
rolled  up  from  morning  until  night. 

Martha  liked  her.  The  girl  would  ask  advice, 
and  showed  forethought.  And  if  she  undertook  to 
do  anything,  it  was  done  both  quickly  and  well. 

"  Yes,  yes — it  is  time  that  the  worst  of  the  bother 
were  taken  over  by  someone  who  is  younger," 
Martha  thought. 

And  Hans  had  someone  to  play  with  again.  If 
the  young  woman  came  running  across  the  court- 
yard he  would  always  happen  to  be  there,  and  would 
stroke  his  beard  and  say : 

"  Olina — come  here !  Listen — you  and  I  must 
have  a  talk  together !  " 

The  girl  would  hurry  on,  but  would  turn  her  face 


God  and  Woman  259 

away  and  smile.  If  she  sat  down  on  a  chair  in  the 
living-room  the  old  man  would  be  sure  to  be  there 
too,  and  would  try  to  sit  on  her  lap.  She  would  run 
away  and  he  would  run  after  her.  Nils  and  Martha 
would  smile.  "  Now  the  smallest  child  has  found 
somebody  to  play  with  again,"  she  would  say. 

Since  the  coming  bride  had  moved  to  Dyrendal, 
Nils  felt  more  responsible,  and  began  to  assume 
almost  complete  control  of  the  farm.  Now  he  was 
responsible  for  a  bride,  too,  and  she,  poor  creature, 
had  no  one  but  him  to  turn  to  with  her  troubles. 
Still  nothing  had  been  put  into  writing  by  the  old 
folks,  so  Nils  must  continue  to  build  upon  an  uncer- 
tainty. However,  Nils  arranged  to  have  new 
wainscoting  put  into  the  little  red  building  up  in 
the  meadow,  which  had  formerly  served  as  servants' 
quarters.  When  Martha  and  Hans  noticed  it,  they 
could  not  help  think :  "  Yes,  yes — there  is  some 
reason  for  that.  He  fears,  no  doubt,  that  the  old 
folks  might  want  to  remain  in  the  house,  and  that 
they  would  be  in  the  way  of  the  young  folks.  He 
thinks  it  will  be  best  to  have  some  place  ready  for 
them — yes,  yes !  " 

But  nothing  was  said  about  the  little  red  building 
in  the  meadow.  Dyrendal  was  a  part  of  the  very 
life  of  the  old  folks,  which  they  wished  to  cling  to 
as  long  as  possible,  and  they  wanted  to  close  their 
eyes  to  the  inevitable  yet  awhile.  There  would  be 
time  enough.  Wait,  at  least,  until  after  the  wed- 
ding. 

Wait,    yes!     They    should    have    known    how 


260  God  and  Woman 

anxious  and  impatient  Nils  was  becoming.  To  say 
anything  about  receiving  the  deed — that,  of  course, 
he  could  never  do.  But  was  he,  for  example,  to 
receive  only  Dyrendal,  or  was  he  to  be  made  the 
legal  heir  to  all  they  owned?  That  they  had  never 
said  a  word  about.  Everything  depended  upon 
their  favour.  If  there  should  be  a  disagreement 
some  day,  the  old  folks  might  send  away  both  him 
and  his  sweetheart  with  empty  hands. 

It  was  humiliating  to  have  to  bow,  and  scrapel 
and  wait.  But  one  thing  he  swore — once  he  was 
the  master  of  Dyrendal,  there  should  be  no  trouble 
between  the  old  folks  and  the  young  folks.  Once 
the  reins  were  finally  in  his  hands,  he  would  do  the 
driving.  And  as  far  as  Olina  was  concerned,  she 
would  never  dare  to  become  the  mistress  of  Dyren- 
dal as  long  as  the  old  woman  snooped  around  and 
looked  at  her  fingers. 

The  old  folks  must  get  out. 

The  last  Sunday  before  the  wedding  came  with 
blue  September  sky  and  warm  weather.  The  yel- 
low fields  swayed  in  the  gentle  east  wind  and  looked 
like  sunshine  turned  into  grain.  Martha  and  the 
young  woman  were  out  in  the  meadows  looking  at 
the  cattle,  which  were  grazing  in  the  green  fields. 
There  were  now  forty  head  of  red,  white,  and  mot- 
tled cows.  Some  had  brown  bodies  and  white 
heads.  Horns  with  bright  brass  knobs  bobbed  up 
and  down,  as  the  cows  nibbled  the  grass.  Down 
beside  the  lake  there  were  two  white  heifers  that 


God  and  Woman  261 

had  eaten  their  fill  and  lay  stretched  out  on  the 
grass  chewing  their  cud  with  their  eyes  closed. 

When  their  old  mistress  came  by  many  of  the 
cows  raised  their  heads  and  lowed.  Martha  talked 
to  them  and  patted  them  and  called  them  by  name. 
There  was  a  light  haze  over  the  landscape.  The 
lake  and  the  fjord  looked  silvery.  The  mountain- 
tops  were  streaked  with  yellow.  The  church  bells 
rang. 

The  visit  to  the  animals  in  the  meadow  became  a 
strange  experience  for  Martha.  It  seemed  to  her 
as  if  they  were  there  to  bid  them  good-bye.  She 
remembered  the  winter  evenings  when  she  used  to 
sit  beside  them  to  milk,  and  placed  her  forehead 
against  their  warm  sides,  how  the  movements  and 
the  noises  in  the  large  stable  would  stream  into  her 
and  fill  her  with  a  spirit  of  infinite  calm  and  seren- 
ity. Their  peace  would  become  her  peace.  She 
gave  them  what  they  needed  to  sustain  life,  and  in 
return  they  gave  her  peace  of  mind  and  the  joy  of 
caring  for  them.  Now  it  was  a  thing  of  the  past. 
All  this  had  only  been  loaned  to  her.  Now  it  must 
be  given  back.  And,  at  her  side,  walked  the  person 
who  was  to  relieve  her  and  take  her  place. 

Martha  felt,  for  the  first  time,  that  she  must  like 
this  girl.  She  was  not  exactly  her  daughter-in-law, 
but  nevertheless — she  must  give  over  a  great  por- 
tion of  her  life  into  her  hands.  Here  it  is.  Take 
good  care  of  it.  She  did  not  say,  in  so  many  words, 
that  the  young  woman  should  have  all  of  these  ani- 
mals— no,  not  to-day,  but  she  selected  a  cow  here 


262  God  and  Woman 

and  there  and  talked  about  her.  That,  for  instance, 
is  such  a  cow,  and  must  be  taken  care  of  thus,  if  she 
is  to  give  milk  as  she  ought  to.  The  young  woman 
was  very  attentive.  She  walked  beside  Martha  and 
smiled,  and  her  eyes  were  submissive. 

The  wedding  day  was  bright  and  warm.  Flags 
fluttered  in  the  light  breeze.  The  farmyard  was 
full  of  teams.  Horses  neighed.  Dyrendal  teemed 
with  kerchiefs  and  shawls  and  men's  coats  of  grey 
homespun  and  blue  duffel.  More  teams  were  com- 
ing constantly.  There  were  hundreds  of  guests.  A 
wedding  at  Dyrendal  was  no  mere  trifle.  The 
bride's  father,  the  sacristan  from  Vassby  parish, 
was  a  tall  man  with  a  dark  beard.  He  came  with- 
out his  wife,  but  with  six  children,  and  had  invited 
twenty  of  his  neighbours.  "  I  wonder  if  they  are 
all  liberals,"  thought  Hans. 

Just  before  they  were  going  to  church  for  the 
wedding  ceremony,  the  old  man  stood  before  the 
mirror  in  the  front  room  arranging  his  neck-tie. 
Martha,  grey-haired  but  spruced  up  and  beautiful 
still,  came  to  him  rather  hurriedly : 

"  And  now,"  she  said,  "  I  want  to  thank  you  for 
everything,  Hans." 

He  turned  around  and  smiled  an  uncertain  sort 
of  smile. 

*'  What  everything  is  that?  "  he  said. 

"  Oh,"  she  said,  her  arm  brushing  his  sleeve  as  if 
by  accident.  "  It  is  only  this — that  we  are,  per- 
haps, over  the  worst  of  our  struggles  now."  She 
smiled  and  hastened  away. 


God  and  Woman  263 

The  bridegroom  walked  about  restlessly,  dressed 
in  blue  duffel  and  stiff  hat.  His  necktie  would 
creep  up  too  high  in  the  neck,  so  that  he  had  con- 
stantly to  push  it  down  with  his  forefinger.  While 
doing  this  he  would  stretch  his  neck  and  make 
grimaces.  There  were  a  thousand  and  one  things 
that  needed  his  attention.  He  must  arrange  the 
bridal  procession  in  order  of  rank  and  kinship 
with  the  bridal  pair.  He  must  arrange  the  seating 
in  the  church,  where  all  wished  to  occupy  places  of 
honour,  as  near  the  front  as  possible.  He  knew 
that,  for  years  afterwards,  people  would  talk  about 
this  one  and  that  one  who  had  been  placed  too  far 
back. 

Martha  also  bustled  about  with  an  anxious  look. 
Would  Nils'  mother  follow  immediately  after  the 
bridal  carriage,  or  would  it  be  she  and  Hans? 

The  carriages  began  to  roll  up.  And  there  was 
the  Surrey,  which  had  been  used  by  the  colonel,  the 
former  master  of  Dyrendal,  and  which  Hans  and 
Martha  had  always  looked  upon  as  a  little  too  fine 
for  them.  It  had  been  pressed  into  service  for  the 
occasion  to  carry  the  bridal  couple.  And  there  was 
the  bride  on  the  door-step.  All  eyes  were  fixed 
upon  her.  She  was  tall  and  pale,  but  very  beauti- 
ful. Her  golden  hair  was  bound  with  a  garland  of 
flowers.  She  stepped  into  the  Surrey.  The  bride- 
groom stepped  up  beside  her.  A  bridesmaid  occu- 
pied the  front  seat  with  the  driver.  The  whip 
snapped.  The  bay  mare  to-day  had  silver  buckles 
on  her  harness.  She  curved  her  head  and  seemed 


264  God  and  Woman 

to  know  that  she  had  been  entrusted  to  carry  a 
bridal  pair  to  church. 

What  was  this?  Carriage  after  carriage  came  up 
and  rolled  away.  Next  after  the  bride  and  groom 
were  the  sacristan,  and  by  his  side  Nils'  mother. 
But  Martha  and  Hans  seemed  to  have  been  for- 
gotten. They  looked  about  for  a  conveyance.  Was 
there  none  for  them? 

"  What  about  us?  "  said  Martha  to  Hans.  She 
was  pale.  Hans  was  also  very  much  perplexed. 
Nils  had  charge  of  finding  places  for  the  visitors  to 
ride,  and  there  were  many  to  provide  for.  But — 
but  they  wanted  to  ride,  too. 

Hans  ran  up  the  road  and  called  to  Nils.  The 
bridegroom  had  worked  so  hard  to  arrange  every- 
thing. He  thought  at  last  he  was  through. 

"  What  is  it  now?  "  he  said  angrily,  and  stopped. 

"  You  must  have  forgotten  that  Martha  and  I 
should  al&o  like  to  ride  to  the  church." 

"  Great  heavens !  "  exclaimed  the  bride,  looking 
at  the  bridegroom  in  a  terrified  manner. 

Nils  also  realized  that  this  was  a  dreadful  mis- 
fortune, and  that  it  was  his  fault,  but  that  seemed 
to  anger  him  the  more. 

"  Oh,  you  take  this  Surrey,"  and  he  made  a  move- 
ment as  if  to  get  out.  "  The  bride  and  I  can  walk." 

"You  ought  to  be  ashamed  of  yourself  to  talk 
such  nonsense.  But  didn't  you  bring  down  a  horse 
from  the  pasture  for  me?  "  Hans  stood  beside  the 
road  and  spoke  in  a  low  tone  of  voice,  so  that  others 
would  not  hear. 


God  and  Woman  265 

"  If  you  wanted  another  horse,  couldn't  you  have 
looked  after  that  yourself?  "  said  Nils,  and  drove 
on.  Now  the.  whole  wedding  had  been  ruined. 

Martha  had  heard  everything  where  she  was 
standing  on  the  door-step.  She  grinned  when  Hans 
returned. 

"  We  are  left  over,"  she  said.  "  We  might  as 
well  stay  where  we  are.  Come,  let  us  go  in." 

"  No,  that  would  wreck  the  wedding.  We'll  get 
a  ride  with  someone."  The  wedding  guests  had 
been  so  busy  taking  their  places  in  the  long  proces- 
sion that  no  one  had  noticed  this  little  hitch.  At 
last  Martha  and  Hans  were  invited  to  ride  with  the 
bailiff. 

Flags  had  been  raised  at  every  house  that  the 
wedding  procession  passed.  Only  the  very  oldest 
could  remember  so  large  a  wedding.  In  former 
times  a  wedding  procession  of  this  sort  would  have 
been  very  different.  First  would  have  come  the 
musicians — clarinet  and  fiddle — then  the  bride 
wearing  a  crown.  The  horses  would  raise  clouds 
of  dust.  And  the  men  would  pass  around  a  bottle 
and  would  sing.  Now,  the  long  line  of  horses 
jogged  along  at  a  dog-trot,  without  any  noise,  almost 
as  at  a  funeral. 

The  bride's  father  and  the  bridegroom's  mother 
had  many  things  to  talk  about  as  they  drove  im- 
mediately behind  the  bride  and  groom.  The  old 
woman  was  shrunken  and  crooked,  and  had  con- 
stantly to  dry  her  eyes.  Many  a  time  it  had  made 
her  feel  bad  to  think  how  little  desire  the  boy  had  to 


266  God  and  Woman 

remain  with  his  relatives.  But,  whenever  he  had 
sought  refuge  at  home  with  her,  she  had  treated  him 
harshly  and  actually  had  compelled  him  to  go  back. 
It  was  almost  as  if  she  had  driven  him  away  from 
home — all  for  the  sake  of  what  he  would  inherit — 
and  many  a  time  it  had  given  her  pain.  And  he  had 
been  so  kind  to  her — kinder  than  any  of  the  other 
children. 

When  they  had  reached  the  church  the  bride  gath- 
ered her  shawl  about  her  and  came  to  Martha  and 
Hans. 

"  I  want  to  say  for  Nils,"  she  began,  on  the  point 
of  bursting  into  tears,  "  that  you  two  are  to  walk 
immediately  after  the  bridal  couple  when  we  make 
the  offering." 

That  made  amends.  Now  they  were,  after  all,  to 
occupy  the  place  of  parents.  The  bride,  poor  girl, 
had  tried  so  hard  to  set  things  right,  and  Martha 
was  not  a  person  who  would  bear  a  grudge  long  on 
a  day  like  this. 

"  I  want  to  thank  you  for  that,"  Martha  said. 
She  had  a  strong  desire  to  pat  her  cheek. 

The  wedding  lasted  several  days.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  set  tables  in  three  rooms.  Many  things 
were  done  according  to  ancient  custom,  and  some 
things  were  new.  For  instance,  it  was  according 
to  ancient  custom  that  large  bowls  of  soup  and 
cream  porridge  were  placed  upon  the  table  and 
home-brewed  ale  was  served.  But  it  was  something 
new  that,  at  so  large  a  wedding,  there  was  not  a 
drop  of  brandy  to  be  had.  And  there  was  not  a 


God  and  Woman  267 

sound  from  a  fiddle,  because  this  was  a  godly  house. 
Instead  of  indulging  in  such  worldly  things,  the 
guests  ate  the  oftener.  They  ate  from  morning 
until  night.  There  would  be  a  warm  meal  and,  a 
little  later,  coffee.  They  would  go  outside  and  look 
at  the  weather,  perhaps  take  a  turn  around  the 
garden,  then  they  would  go  in  again  for  a  cup  of 
coffee.  They  drank  coffee  in  the  evening  and  late 
into  the  night  in  order  to  keep  awake.  If  any  of 
them  happened  to  wake  up  too  early,  they  would 
drink  a  cup  of  coffee  in  order  to  get  straightened 
out.  Many  acquired  a  bad  taste  in  the  mouth  and 
felt  as  if  they  had  a  weight  in  the  stomach.  Folks 
told  them  they  would  feel  better  after  a  good  cup 
of  coffee.  The  young  folks  dared  not  dance.  In- 
stead they  played  games  in  the  meadow,  and  wan- 
dered off  by  couples  into  the  woods. 

Hans  was  not  particularly  enthusiastic  over  the 
sacristan.  He  went  about  with  a  look  as  if  he, 
single  handed,  had  given  Norway  her  freedom.  He 
gave  the  young  couple  good  advice,  enough  to  last 
them  a  hundred  years.  But  why  did  Mis  and  he 
constantly  have  their  heads  together?  Was  it  be- 
cause Nils  did  not  owe  him  anything,  and,  therefore, 
felt  like  a  free  man  in  his  presence? 

The  days  were  bright  with  sunshine.  Men  in 
white  shirt-sleeves  wandered  about  among  the  build- 
ings trying  to  make  the  time  pass.  Women  ran 
between  the  kitchen  and  the  stabur.  Others  sat, 
upon  the  steps  and  chatted  about  children  and  cows. 
In  the  evening,  after  dark,  neighbours  who  had  not 


268  God  and  Woman 

been  invited  would  come  to  look  at  the  gay  house 
where  there  was  such  a  large  wedding. 

They  sat  in  the  front  room — the  host,  the  bride's 
father,  and  the  best  men  in  the  community — and 
talked  politics  and  smoked,  when  the  bailiff  said : 

"  Let  me  see,  was  it  here  that  Knut  Hamren 
worked  as  a  herd-boy  once  upon  a  time?  " 

The  bridegroom  became  red  about  his  forehead. 

"  Yes,  indeed,  it  was  here,"  said  Hans.  "  He  has 
become  quite  a  man,  that  boy." 

"  You  don't  mean  the  agitator,  who  is  travelling 
up  and  down  the  country,  trying  to  start  a  revolu- 
tion, do  you?"  asked  the  sacristan  from  Vassby 
parish. 

"  Oh,  I  don't  think  he  is  quite  as  bad  as  that/'  said 
Hans  with  a  grin.  "  He  was  a  good  boy  when  he 
was  with  us." 

Nils  smiled  at  this. 

"  Yes,  he  has  just  been  made  editor  of  the  social- 
ist paper  in  town,"  said  the  bailiff,  "  so  I  suppose 
he  will  be  out  to  start  a  revolution  among  us  one  of 
these  days." 

"  I  should  think  he  would  be  ashamed  to  show 
himself  here,"  thought  the  bridegroom,  "for  we 
know  him  too  well." 

The  door  was  opened  and  someone  shouted : 

"Ole  is  here!" 

"  Ole?  " 

Anxiety  began  to  spread  among  the  guests.  Men 
and  women  ran  among  the  buildings.  Ole  was 
there !  He  had  not  been  invited.  He  was  only  an 


God  and  Woman  269 

unattached  man  about  sixty  years  old,  but  still  lie 
was  Ole.  Breaking  in  upon  the  long  monotony,  the 
mention  of  this  name  had  the  effect  of  an  explosion. 

The  big  man  appeared  from  the  woods  and  walked 
across  the  green  meadow  toward  the  house.  He 
was  still  tall,  and  had  a  white  beard  and  a  red  face. 
His  hands  were  buried  in  his  pockets.  He  walked 
quietly.  He  had  expected  it  would  be  just  like  that 
— a  great  number  of  people  staring  at  him — just 
like  that.  What  did  he  want?  Well 

When  a  man  like  Ole  hears  there  is  to  be  a  wed- 
ding, he  does  not  consider  first  of  all  whether  he  is 
invited.  No,  Ole  had  been  in  Finmark  several 
years.  He  had  just  returned.  He  had  heard  there 
was  a  wedding  in  progress  at  Dyrendal — that  he 
must  see.  He  took  a  few  good  drinks — and  here  he 
was.  In  the  good  old  days  a  wedding  meant  a  good 
time — three  barrels  of  brandy,  dancing,  a  stabbing 
affray,  the  elopement  of  some  swain  and  maid. 
There  a  man  would  go  if  he  thought  he  might  meet 
the  fellow  with  whom  he  had  a  score  to  settle — a 
disagreement  over  timber-cutting  in  the  woods,  or  a 
word  that  had  been  let  fall  ten  years  ago  on  the  way 
to  church.  There  old  scores  could  be  settled.  If 
the  men  were  too  old  to  fight  they  would  sit  with 
a  bottle  between  them,  and  thunder  and  pound  the 
table  with  their  fists.  They  would  look  very  angry 
and  would  fight  with  their  tongues  until  they  were 
so  drunk  they  would  go  to  selep  on  the  benches 
where  they  sat.  That  was  in  the  days  when  Ole 
was  young.  That  was  a  wedding  in  former  times. 


270  God  and  Woman 

Ole  is  here.  Where  is  the  master  of  ceremonies 
with  bottle  and  glass?  Where  are  the  musicians? 
Where  are  the  men  who  have  been  fighting  and  now 
wear  a  bandage  over  one  eye?  There,  on  the  door- 
step a  man  calls  for  attention.  He  is  the  school- 
master, Hansen,  who  wants  to  read  from  a  book 
the  adventures  of  Asbjornsen.  But  there  are  no 
fiddles.  Was  this  supposed  to  be  a  wedding? 

Ole  made  his  way  through  the  crowd  into  the 
house.  There  sat  men,  not  with  bottle  and  glass, 
but  with  cigars  in  their  mouths.  To  be  sure  they 
pounded  the  tables  with  their  fists  and  thundered, 
but  their  wrangling  was  only  about  liberals  and 
conservatives.  Ole  turned  to  go  out  again.  No, 
thanks!  He  wanted  no  coffee  and  no  cakes  with 
syrup.  What  would  he  do  with  that?  But  the 
young  people — where  were  the  swains  and  the 
maidens  at  this  wedding?  There  were,  of  course, 
attics  and  lofts.  Ole  walked  up  the  stairway  to  the 
attic  with  a  heavy  tread.  At  a  wedding  ten  years* 
ago  they  might  have  been  found  up  there. 

But  no  young  folks  were  to  be  found  in  the  attic. 
They  had  gone  to  the  woods.  Was  this  supposed 
to  be  a  wedding? 

Schoolmaster  Hansen  stood  upon  the  door-step 
reading  a  new  adventure  of  Asbjornsen,  when  the 
attention  of  his  audience  began  to  be  attracted  in 
another  direction.  There  came  Ole  across  the 
courtyard.  He  had  got  hold  of  an  enormous  bowl 
of  cream  porridge.  He  sat  down  on  the  steps  and 


God  and  Woman  271 

began  to  eat,  not  with  a  silver  spoon,  but  with  a 
ladle. 

Folks  stared  at  him  and  snickered.  Girls  who 
had  lived  in  town  a  month  as  servants  and  wore 
city  clothes,  even  to  hats,  thought  Ole  was  rude. 
When  the  bowl  was  empty  Ole  put  it  down,  went 
straight  to  the  mistress  of  Dyrendal,  put  his  arm 
around  her  waist,  sat  her  down  upon  his  lap,  and 
gave  her  a  kiss  square  on  the  mouth.  Some  became 
so  frightened  that  they  ran  away.  But  Martha  did 
not  strike  him  in  the  face :  no,  indeed — she  laughed 
heartily  and  slapped  her  knee. 

Then  Ole  rose  and  looked  over  the  company : 

"  I  thought  there  was  a  wedding  here,"  he  said, 
"  but  I  see  it  is  a  funeral  feast.  Good-bye,  and 
thank  you ! " 

Then  Ole  went  away. 

Martha  looked  at  Ole,  wiped  her  mouth,  and 
smiled. 

"  Ruffian !  "  exclaimed  schoolmaster  Hansen. 
Nevertheless,  the  entire  audience  followed  after  Ole. 

Finally  came  the  last  day  of  the  wedding,  when 
the  wedding  gifts  were  to  be  placed  in  the  bowl. 
Everyone  revived.  It  was  as  if  a  breath  of  air  from 
olden  times  had  swept  over  the  company.  Every- 
one was  on  hand  and  wanted  to  be  near  the  centre 
of  action.  All,  of  course,  could  not  crowd  into  the 
front  room.  Many  hung  in  the  open  windows.  Be- 
hind them  others  stood  upon  benches  and  barrels 
in  order  to  get  as  good  a  view  as  possible. 

Kristian  Haug  was  an  important  person  when  he 


272  God  and  Woman 

asked  the  bride  and  groom  to  occupy  the  seat  of 
honour  so  that  folks  might  say  a  word  to  them. 

There  sat  the  twenty-year  old  bride,  a  little  blue 
under  the  eyes  on  account  of  the  long  wedding,  but 
with  a  garland  still  around  her  head.  Nils,  sitting 
at  her  side,  dressed  in  his  suit  of  blue  duffel, 
pressed  his  neck-tie  down  in  the  neck,  and  realized 
that  now  the  great  thing  would  happen — now,  at 
last.  But  no  one  suspected  that,  inwardly,  he  shiv- 
ered and  shook. 

Kristian  Haug  had  a  gavel  in  his  hand.  He  was 
now  a  man  of  about  forty,  with  a  dark  beard  under 
his  chin.  His  wife,  Jonetta,  was  at  home,  with 
four  little  ones. 

He  struck  a  beam  under  the  ceiling  with  his 
gavel  and  said : 

"  With  your  permission,  good  folks !  " 

"  Here  we  have  an  estimable  person,  the  father 
of  the  bride,  the  church  sacristan,  Ole  Pedersen 
Silness,  who  bestows  upon  the  bridal  pair  one  cow 
and  forty  crowns  in  money.  He  deserves  our 
thanks,  and  a  drink  he  shall  have." 

This  rule  was  from  old  times,  when  the  giver 
always  received  a  drink.  Instead,  Kristian  handed 
the  sacristan  a  bun  with  some  syrup  on  it. 

The  bride  smiled  and  dried  her  eyes.  Nils  rose 
and  shook  hands  with  the  sacristan  and  thanked 
him  for  the  gift.  Hans,  broad  shouldered  and  bald 
headed,  who  sat  beside  Martha  over. by  the  wall, 
whispered  to  her : 


God  and  Woman  273 

"  I  wonder  if  that  dirty  sacristan  thinks  we  are 
in  need  of  a  cow  at  Dyrendal !  " 

When  the  bride  and  groom  were  seated  again, 
Kristian  once  more  struck  the  beam  with  his  gavel. 
This  time  it  was  the  mother  of  Nils  who  gave  four 
silver  spoons  and  three  sheep. 

"  We  thank  her  very  much,  and  a  drink  she  shall 
have,"  said  Kristian. 

Martha  smiled.  Did  her  sister  think  there  were 
no  spoons  at  Dyrendal? 

All  were  anxiously  waiting  to  hear  what  the  next 
would  be — what  the  master  and  mistress  of  Dyren- 
dal intended  to  give.  Even  the  bridegroom  was  not 
altogether  free  from  interest  in  that. 

The  gavel  struck  the  beam  again. 

"  With  your  permission,  good  folks !  " 

The  estimable  persons  this  time  were  Hans  John- 
son Dyrendal  and  his  wife  Martha,  Peter's  daugh- 
ter, of  the  same  place.  They  honour  the  bridal 
couple  with  the  gift  of  the  entire  estate  of  Dyrendal, 
grounds,  houses,  salmon-fishery,  and  woods,  with 
the  provision  that  they,  the  donors,  are  to  have  a 
home  at  Dyrendal  for  life,  free  house  and  food, 
three  cows,  three  sheep,  and  their  keep. 

It  became  very  quiet  in  the  house  for  a  moment. 
Here,  at  last,  was  a  gift  that  amounted  to  some- 
thing. Hans  looked  at  the  sacristan.  That 
prophet  of  liberalism  became  red  about  the  fore- 
head. His  cow  became  only  as  dust  and  thin  air 
beside  this. 


274  God  and  Woman 

Martha  and  Hans  smiled  when  the  bride  and 
groom  came  to  thank  them  for  it. 

"  I  hope  you  will  enjoy  it,"  said  Martha,  and 
shook  the  bride's  hand. 

For  some  time  the  others  who  had  gifts  to  make 
were  ashamed  to  announce  them.  What  would 
their  small  gifts  amount  to  after  what  had  hap- 
pened? 

All  eyes  were  upon  Hans  and  Martha,  who  now 
no  longer  owned  Dyrendal. 

At  last  Kristian  Haug  struck  the  beam  with  his 
gavel  again,  but  no  one  listened  to  him.  The  win- 
dows were  empty.  The  people  had  scattered  into 
groups  to  talk.  Finally,  they  had  mustered  courage 
enough  to  begin  to  make  their  offerings  again. 
There  was  a  large  bowl  before  the  bridal  couple. 
In  it  money  began  to  be  heaped  up. 

Once  when  the  gavel  struck  the  beam  it  was 
announced  that  the  herd-boy  at  Dyrendal  gave  the 
bride  and  groom  six  brooms  which  he  had  made 
while  tending  the  cattle.  The  bride  and  groom  rose 
and  came  to  thank  him.  His  face  was  crimson, 
because  he  had  nothing  else  to  give  them. 

"  That  was  very  kind  of  you,"  said  the  bride,  and 
gave  the  boy  a  motherly  look. 

A  little  girl  who  was  the  daughter  of  one  of  the 
cottagers  came  forward  and  whispered  something 
to  the  master  of  ceremonies. 

He  whispered  back  that,  no,  it  was  not  proper  to 
announce  anything  of  that  sort.  She  had  only 
brought  a  large  bucket  of  cream. 


God  and  Woman  275 

The  guests  began  to  go  home.  At  last  only  the 
mother  of  Mis  and  the  sacristan  from  Vassby 
parish  remained. 

"  No  doubt  those  two  will  rule  and  decide  what  is 
to  be  done  at  Dyrendal  after  this  day/'  thought 
Martha. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  V 

AT  dusk  they  all  sat  in  the  living-room  and  Nils 
walked  back  and  forth. 

"  Yes,"  he  said,  "  it  will  seem  good  to  get  into 
one's  working  clothes  again." 

"  I  suppose  you  are  tired  of  having  company  in 
the  house,"  said  the  sacristan  with  a  grin.  "  Young 
folks  are  always  anxious  to  be  alone." 

"  Oh,  we  haven't  moved  in  yet,"  said  Nils.  And 
that  was  true  enough,  for  they  had  slept  in  the 
room  above  the  stabur  because  the  house  was  full 
of  guests. 

"  Do  you  hear?  He  wants  us  to  get  out,"  said 
Martha,  smiling  to  Hans.  "  Well — the  house  does 
not  belong  to  us  any  longer,  so  I  suppose  we  might 
as  well  take  our  bed  and  move  out." 

For  a  moment  there  was  perfect  quiet.  Martha 
understood  that  Nils  and  his  mother  had  talked  over 
this  matter  together,  perhaps  also  the  sacristan. 

No  doubt  they  were  all  afraid  the  old  folks  would 
remain  in  the  house. 

"  Oh,  Nils  didn't  mean  that  I  am  sure,"  ventured 
the  young  wife;  but  the  bridegroom  continued  to 
pace  up  and  down  the  floor  and  said  nothing.  It 
was  clear  that  he  was  impatient  to  become  master 
in  his  own  house. 

276 


God  and  Woman  277 

Martha  rose. 

"  Yes,  come,  Hans !  Let  us  take  our  bed  and 
move  away  from  here/'  she  said. 

"  Well — I  suppose  we  can  do  that,"  thought 
Hans,  and  rose  also. 

"  The  servants'  house  isn't  ready  yet,  so  there  is 
no  special  hurry  to-night,"  said  Nils  at  last. 

But  this  invitation  to  remain  was  worse  than 
none. 

"  Oh,  I  guess  it  is  good  enough  for  us,"  said 
Martha,  becoming  more  and  more  angry.  "  Come, 
Hans,  and  help  me." 

It  was  no  use  to  make  objections.  Martha  did 
not  want  to  be  in  the  way.  Martha  would  move  out 
that  instant  even  if  she  must  sleep  in  the  stable  or 
in  the  smithy  that  night.  She  selected  the  bed  in 
the  spare  bedroom  off  the  living-room.  One  of  the 
maids  helped  her  take  the  bed  apart  and  carry  it 
out.  They  came  for  the  bed-clothes  later.  Martha 
went  to  the  barn  for  some  fresh  straw  to  use  as  bed- 
ding. 

"  I  suppose  the  straw  belongs  to  us  yet,"  she  said 
and  smiled. 

Hans  must  clean  out  the  little  servants'  house. 
There  were  empty  barrels  and  shavings  and  rubbish, 
and  two  fur  robes  hung  there.  Some  of  the  window- 
panes  were  broken  and  the  holes  stuffed  with  rags. 

"  There  is  no  use  trying  to  reason  with  them," 
said  Nils  to  his  guests,  trying  to  smile  and  still 
pacing  up  and  down  the  floor.  "  If  they  make  up 
their  minds  to  do  anything,  why In  God's 


278  God  and  Woman 

name,  let  them  do  as  they  please,  and  be  quick 
about  it ! " 

When  the  bed  had  been  set  up  in  the  little  house, 
Martha  straightened  up  and  looked  about  her. 

"  Well — so  far,  so  good,"  she  said.  "  But  we  can- 
not eat  on  the  floor.  And  I  suppose  we  ought  to  be 
entitled  to  a  chair,  even  if  we  are  old.  And  if  we 
are  going  to  do  any  cooking  we  must  have  some- 
thing in  the  kitchen  too.  And  food — I  suppose  the 
food  belongs  to  us,  at  least  what  is  here  now." 

"  Yes,  but  this  is  going  a  little  too  far,"  thought 
Hans.  "  We  cannot  take  away  from  them  what  is 
in  the  house." 

"  We  have  not  given  them  any  of  the  furniture," 
she  said.  "  Come,  let  us  carry  up  what  we  need. 
The  sacristan,  who  has  so  many  cows  to  give  away, 
I  suppose  can  give  them  some  furniture,  too." 

Martha  went  into  the  front  room,  took  down  the 
hanging-lamp,  and  walked  through  the  living-room 
with  it.  She  felt  that  eyes  were  fixed  upon  her; 
but  paid  no  attention  to  it. 

"  We  must  have  at  least  light  enough  so  that  we 
can  see  to  eat,  we  old  folks,"  she  said,  and  went  out. 

"Yes,  I  suppose  that  was  not  included  in  the 
furniture,"  said  the  sacristan  when  she  had  gone. 

Nils  tried  to  smile. 

"  I  wonder  if  anyone  knows  what  was  included," 
he  said.  "  Nothing  has  been  put  into  writing  yet, 
you  know." 

"  True,  you  ought  to  arrange  to  have  that  done," 
said  the  sacristan,  with  a  sly  look  in  his  eye. 


God  and  Woman  279 

By  her  talking,  Martha  had  finally  succeeded  in 
arousing  a  feeling  of  resentment  in  Hans,  so  that  he 
was  willing  to  help  her.  In  the  darkness  they  car- 
ried tables,  chairs,  and  benches  out  of  the  large 
house  up  to  the  little  red  servants'  house  in  the 
meadow.  One  of  the  maids  came  in  from  the 
kitchen. 

"  Well,  now  we  have  no  coffee-grinder,"  she  said. 

"  How  is  that  ? "  asked  Nils,  stopping  in  the 
middle  of  the  room. 

"  Martha  has  just  carried  it  off,"  answered  the 
maid. 

All  looked  at  one  another  in  amazement. 

"  Then  I  suppose  we'll  have  to  grind  our  coffee 
with  an  empty  bottle  for  a  while,"  said  Nils,  con- 
tinuing to  pace  the  floor. 

The  old  people  did  not  care  to  go  down  to  sup- 
per. Martha  brought  up  a  basket  of  bread,  butter, 
cheese,  and  eggs  from  the  buttery.  They  had  not 
given  away  the  food  in  the  house  yet. 

At  last  Martha  and  Hans  went  to  bed  in  their 
little  cottage.  They  were  tired  out  after  this  day 
of  many  troubles  and  cares,  but  they  could  not  go 
to  sleep  for  a  long  time.  It  seemed  so  strange  that 
they  should  be  compelled  to  move  out  of  their  own 
house  and  should  be  lying  here. 

It  seemed  so  strange. 

During  the  day  that  followed  Nils  saw  one  thing 
after  another  move  over  the  meadow  up  to  the  little 
red  servants'  house. 


280  God  and  Woman 

He  clenched  his  teeth.  It  seemed  as  if  Hans  and 
Martha  were  downright  plundering  him. 

"  We  need  to  know  what  time  it  is,  we  too,"  said 
Martha  as  she  went  through  the  large  living-room. 
With  that  she  carried  off  the  large  wall  clock  in  the 
tall  mahogany  case  that  reached  from  the  floor  to 
the  ceiling., 

Mis  became  sick  at  heart.  He  asked  the  sacris- 
tan to  remain  a  few  days  in  case  he  might  be 
needed.  And  his  mother,  too,  was  not  to  go  home 
yet. 

If  Mis  had  only  been  able  to  understand  that  it 
was  exactly  those  two  who  angered  the  old  folks  in 
the  servants'  house.  These  strangers  were  invited 
to  remain,  whereas  Martha  and  Hans  must  be 
driven  out. 

They  kept  house  in  the  little  cottage  on  a  small, 
scale  very  much  as  they  did  when  they  first  started 
out  in  life  together.  Martha  had  soon  scrubbed 
thoroughly  in  the  little  house,  so  that  everything 
was  white  and  shining. 

The  first  Sunday  morning  they  slept  until  quite 
late.  Martha  had  figured  out  that  if  the  young 
people  had  any  sense  of  shame,  if  they  had  the  least 
speck  of  gratitude,  if  they  had  the  slightest  idea 
that  the  young  folks  and  the  old  folks  ought  to 
try  to  get  along  well  together,  the  young  wife  would 
serve  them  coffee  in  bed,  and  Nils  would  invite  them 
to  ride  to  church  in  the  Surrey. 

They  lay  in  bed  for  some  time,  waiting.  Finally 
Hans  himself  had  to  get  up  and  cook  the  coffee. 


God  and  Woman  281 

It  did  not  occur  to  them  that  young  people  who 
are  newly  married  like  to  sleep  late  Sunday  morn- 
ings, and  have  little  thought  for  anything  but  them- 
selves. However,  when  Olina  rose  from  her  bed 
she  did  say : 

"  To-day  it  seems  to  me  you  ought  to  drive  the 
old  folks  to  church,  Nils.  We  must  try  to  avoid 
trouble  and  be  on  good  terms  with  them." 

Nils  still  lay  in  bed.    He  answered : 

"  Mother  wants  to  go  to  church,  and  your  father. 
And  I  suppose  you  and  I  ought  to  go,  also.  If  Hans 
and  Martha  want  to  go  to  church,  I  suppose  they 
can  take  the  trouble  of  letting  us  know  that  they 
want  a  horse." 

On  this  Sunday  morning  Hans  and  Martha  were 
heavy  hearted  as  they  ate  breakfast  together.  They 
began  to  realize  that  now  they  were  alone.  They 
had  passed  the  summit  of  their  prosperity  and  were 
on  the  decline.  They  were  becoming  very  ordinary 
people  again.  As  they  were  no  longer  the  master 
and  mistress  of  Dyrendal,  no  one  would  take  any 
particular  interest  in  them  any  more. 

They  saw  through  the  window  that  the  Surrey 
and  two  gigs  were  made  ready.  The  newly  married 
couple,  the  sacristan,  and  the  mother  of  Nils,  a 
maid,  and  a  hired  man  drove  off  to  church.  No  one 
seemed  to  think  of  the  old  folks.  Or  perhaps  Nils 
wanted  them  to  beg  for  a  ride  to  church. 

"  I  suppose  he  is  angry  because  he  did  not  get 
every  scrap,  down  to  the  shirt  on  my  back,"  said 
Hans,  grinning. 


282  God  and  Woman 

To-day  it  seemed  strange  to  go  about  among  the 
houses  and  not  have  any  authority.  Dyrendal — it 
did  not  belong  to  him  any  longer. 

When  he  went  in,  he  found  Martha  sitting  beside 
a  window  reading  the  hymn-book.  She  looked  up 
over  her  spectacles  at  him. 

"  Do  the  horses  he  is  driving  to  church  with  be- 
long to  Nils?  "  she  asked,  raising  her  eyebrows. 

"  I  suppose  that  depends  upon  us,"  Hans  replied. 
"  Nothing  has  yet  been  decided  about  that." 

"  Yes,"  she  said,  "  perhaps  you  are  beginning  to 
realize,  you  also,  that  it  will  be  well  for  us  to  be 
careful.  The  day  might  come  when  the  few  shil- 
lings we  have  left  will  be  the  only  comfort  we 
have." 

Hans  understood  that,  and  scratched  his  chin. 
"  It  is  beginning  to  be  pretty  bad,"  he  said,  and 
shook  his  head. 

"  Yes,  but  is  that  our  fault?  " 

When  Nils  returned  from  church  he  missed  the 
large  mirror  in  the  front  room. 

"  There  have  been  visitors  here,"  he  said,  his  face 
becoming  red  with  anger.  He,  opened  the  cupboard 
door.  The  silver-ware  was  missing. 

That  afternoon  he  asked  the  sacristan  to  accom- 
pany him,  and  went  up  to  see  the  old  folks.  When 
they  were  seated,  he  said  he  would  like  to  know  how 
much  belonged  to  him  at  Dyrendal. 

"  Must  you  know  that  now,  without  a  moment's 
delay?  "  said  Hans  with  a  smile,  although  it  made 
him  angry  to  see  the  sacristan.  What  the  devil  did 


God  and  Woman  283 

that  fellow  want  here,  anyway?    He  had  nothing  to 
do  with  this  matter. 

"  It  may  be  that  I  shall  be  compelled  to  go  out 
and  buy  a  few  things  that  I  need,"  said  Nils.  His 
voice  quivered. 

Hans  put  tufts  of  his  beard  into  his  mouth  and 
looked  down.  Something  of  the  slyness  of  the  horse- 
trader  came  into  his  face. 

"  I  suppose  there  is  a  little  of  everything  you 
can  buy  here,"  he  said  at  last,  "  when  we  have  the 
auction." 

Mis  gave  a  start. 

"  The  auction !  " 

"  Yes !  "  Hans  was  very  much  amused.  He  made 
a  side  glance  at  the  sacristan.  "  There  is  too  much 
to  sell  off  a  little  at  the  time — cattle,  horses,  tools, 
and  furniture.  There  is  also  considerable  grain 
in  the  stabur.  I  think  the  best  plan  will  be  to  have 
an  auction.  Then  everything  can  be  settled  up  at 
once." 

"  It  is  a  good  thing  I  found  that  out,"  said  Nils 
in  a  tone  of  voice  as  if  he  were  now  a  ruined  man. 
He  rose.  "  And  now  I  suppose  I  shall  have  to  bor- 
row a  horse,  a  wagon,  and  a  cow  until  I  have  had 
time  to  buy  others.  And  I  suppose  I  must  ask  per- 
mission to  sit  on  the  chairs  in  the  house." 

"  We  can  talk  about  that  when  persons  not  con- 
cerned in  this  matter  go  away,"  said  Hans,  coming 
nearer.  He  looked  as  if  he  had  a  strong  desire  to 
pick  up  the  sacristan  and  throw  him  out. 

"  Before  we  leave,   there  is  one  thing  more  I 


284  God  and  Woman 

should  like  to  know,"  said  Nils,  when  the  person  not 
concerned  was  outside  the  door.  "  Must  we  begin 
to-morrow  to  buy  the  food  we  eat,  although  the 
stabur  is  full?" 

Hans  walked  past  him  and  closed  the  door,  shut- 
ting out  the  sacristan. 

"  Nils,"  he  said,  on  the  point  of  weeping,  "  I  think 
you  and  I  can  agree  about  these  matters ;  but  don't 
bring  in  outsiders/' 

Nils  made  a  fool  of  himself  again  by  not  being 
able  to  control  himself.  He  said: 

"  Oh,  I  think  the  man  outside  is  just  as  close  to 
me  as  you  are." 

"  Well — all  right — if  that  is  the  case,  then  let  him 
provide  you  with  what  you  need,"  and  pushed  him 
out  through  the  door. 

That  meant  bad  feeling  between  Nils  and  Hans, 
and  matters  did  not  become  better  when  the  sac- 
ristan came  as  a  witness  the  day  they  drove  to  the 
bailiff  to  make  a  transfer  of  the  deed. 

When  they  were  in  the  office  of  the  bailiff,  how- 
ever, Hans  thought  of  Nils  as  a  son,  and  remem- 
bered that  they  had  often  been  good  friends.  He, 
therefore,  included  in  his  gift  two  horses,  ten  cows, 
and  food  for  all  until  the  end  of  the  year,  also  all 
of  the  farm  wagons  and  tools. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  a  large  auction  at  Dyren- 
dal,  which  lasted  many  days.  Martha  was  pale, 
but  smiled.  Hans  was  paler,  but  seemed  to  be  in  a 
merry  mood,  and  was  constantly  joking.  Nils 


God  and  Woman  285 

rushed  about  hither  and  thither,  and  looked  as  if 
he  were  hunting  for  someone  to  thrash. 

Beds,  treasure-chest,  mirror,  sofas  were  put  up 
for  sale.  It  was  a  house,  a  home,  which  was  being 
torn  to  pieces  and  scattered  to  the  winds.  One  cow 
after  the  other  was  led  up.  Martha  stood  near  by 
and  patted  them  and  called  them  by  name,  but  she 
tightened  her  lips  as  if  to  swallow  her  emotion. 

When  the  old  bay  mare  was  led  up,  Martha  took 
her  by  the  bridle  and  gave  her  into  the  hands  of 
Kristian  Haug. 

"  You  have  driven  her  so  many  times,"  she  said. 
"  Now  I  want  you  to  give  her  an  honest  bullet." 

Then  she  went  up  to  her  little  red  house  in  the 
meadow  and  shut  herself  in. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VI 

KNUT  wanted  to  see  the  haunts  of  his  childhood 
again,  and  many  years  ago  he  decided  that  on  that 
day  he  must  wear  a  white  vest. 

He  was  not  a  child  any  longer — oh,  no,  he  had 
had  experiences  of  various  kinds  out  in  the  great 
world,  and  now  his  name  was  both  famous  and 
hated.  But  the  childhood  home  was  something 
apart.  It  was  an  illusion  through  which  he  once 
more  wished  to  try  to  see  the  world  with  the  eyes 
of  childhood.  "  Down  with  the  throne  and  the 
altar,"  he  had  hurled  forth  many  a  time.  But  at 
home  he,  himself,  wanted  to  go  to  church. 

One  bright  summer  morning  he  stepped  ashore. 
He  wore  a  brown  suit,  tan  shoes,  and  a  straw  hat. 
His  vest  was  white.  His  brown  beard  and  a  wrinkle 
or  two  made  him  look  quite  different  from  what  he 
did  when  he  went  away.  Nevertheless,  there  was 
an  old  man  who  recognized  him  and  raised  his  hat. 

"  Good  day/'  he  said.    "  Isn't  this  Knut?  " 

With  an  umbrella  in  one  hand  and  a  carpet  bag 
in  the  other,  he  set  out  along  the  shore  of  the 
fjord.  As  he  walked,  he  would  stop  to  breathe  in 
the  fresh  air.  He  remembered  it — the  odour  of  sea- 
weed and  of  sand  moistened  by  the  sea,  of  shrubs 
from  the  beach,  and  of  new-mown  hay  from  the 

286 


God  and  Woman  287 

fields.  He  filled  his  lungs.  Occasionally  he  had, 
perhaps,  experienced  something  similar  out  in  the 
great  world,  but  never  anything  exactly  the  same — 
oh,  no! 

He  sees  the  mountains,  the  fjord,  the  fisherman's 
cottages.  Everything  is  the  same  as  when  he  was  a 
boy.  But  the  people  he  meets  have  become  so 
different.  One  man  is  unravelling  a  fishing-net  in 
a  boat.  He  is  a  big,  heavy  fellow  with  a  full  beard. 
He  is  the  father  of  a  family.  Is  he  really  one  of 
Knut's  former  schoolmates?  He  remembers  a  little 
friend  of  his  childhood  who  had  the  face  and  the 
eyes  of  an  angel.  Now  she  is  this  stout  woman 
beating  a  fur  rug,  and  is  surrounded  by  a  flock  of 
children.  People  are  so  strange.  They  change  so 
much. 

There  is  the  little  cottage  which  was  his  home.  It 
is  still  more  weather-beaten  than  in  former  days. 
The  northwest  wind  has,  no  doubt,  howled  its 
lament  around  its  walls  many  a  night.  But  grand- 
mother is  still  alive.  She  is  nearly  eighty-five  years 
old.  Perhaps  it  is  the  speckled  hen  that  keeps  her 
alive,  or  perhaps  it  is  the  shilling  that  comes  by 
mail  from  a  good  friend  once  in  a  while.  His 
brothers  and  sisters  are  scattered  to  all  parts  of  the 
world.  Most  of  them  he  has  not  been  able  to  help 
much — oh,  no,  not  much. 

He  enters.  His  father,  his  beard  now  grey,  is 
mending  shoes.  The  father  rises  when  he  sees  a 
gentleman  before  him. 

"  Well,  but — wTell,  well — great  heavens !  " 


288  God  and  Woman 

The  stepmother  has  become  grey.  The  room  is 
full  of  half-grown  children  whom  Knut  does  not 
recognize. 

The  door  to  the  bedroom  opens.  There  stands  a 
sibyl  with  her  stag.  Her  face  is  sunken,  her  skin 
is  wrinkled,  and  her  eyes  are  dim.  But,  of  course, 
it  is  some  time  since  last  they  met. 

"  Good  day,  grandmother !  " 

Peace  and  contentment — to  sit  in  the  house  and 
wrap  oneself  in  the  thought  of  being  at  home,  as 
one  wraps  oneself  in  a  shawl — impossible!  The 
same  night  he  must  row  out  upon  the  fjord  to  fish 
for  coal-fish.  He  has  scores  to  settle  with  the  im- 
pressions of  his  childhood.  Once  he  had  positively 
disliked  the  little  cottage,  and  naked  mountains,  the 
father  who  had  married  a  second  time,  the  fjord. 
The  years  had  brought  a  change.  He  had  forgiven 
all  long  ago. 

His  father  sat  on  the  seat  toward  the  bow  and 
rested  his  oars.  The  long,  swaying  fishing-rods 
hung  far  out  over  the  stern.  The  fishing-lines 
slanted  toward  the  water  and  sailed  along  behind 
the  boat.  The  fjord  was  smooth  as  a  mirror,  but, 
here  and  there,  a  gentle  breeze  breathed  upon  the 
water,  producing  ripples.  A  light,  bluish  twilight 
spread  over  the  cottages  along  the  beach  to  the  east. 
Windows  reflected  the  light  from  the  western  sky. 
Between  the  bluish-green  mountains  toward  the 
ocean  the  surface  of  the  fjord  was  golden.  Every- 
thing was  the  same  as  in  former  days.  Only  the 
people  had  changed. 


God  and  Woman  289 

Ho — there  the  end  of  a  fishing-rod  bends  under 
quick  jerks.  At  the  same  time  a  grey  seagull  flaps 
his  wings  directly  overhead.  A  yellow-bellied  coal- 
fish  comes  to  the  surface  and  is  dragged  toward  the 
boat.  The  fishing-rod  bends  under  the  strain,  but 
finally  the  fish  is  landed  safely  in  the  boat.  Another 
fishing-rod  begins  to  be  jerked  down — then  a  third. 
Coal-fish  splash  the  surface  of  the  water  in  all  direc- 
tions, and  now  there  is  a  swarm  of  seagulls  in  the 
air,  that  shriek  and  dart  down;  but  the  fishes  are 
too  large.  The  birds  only  flap  their  wings  on  the 
surface  of  the  water,  then  rise  again  and  shriek: 
"Hao!  Hao!" 

"  Now  it  is  necessary  to  be  quick,"  said  the  father, 
with  a  grin  of  satisfaction. 

The  old  fisherman  had  become  humpbacked.  But 
it  is  not  everyone  that  has  a  son  who  has  become 
an  ordained  minister  in  America.  And  Knut  is  like 
a  child  again.  He  does  not  tell  his  father  that,  in 
America,  a  person  can  be  a  chimney-sweep  in  the 
day-time  and  attend  a  divinity  school  in  the  eve- 
ning; and  that  a  person  can  receive  even  better 
training  in  the  trades  unions.  That  he  does  not  tell, 
because  he  would  not  be  held  in  the  fame  respect. 

The  father  never  reads  a  paper,  and  believes,  no 
doubt,  that  his  son,  in  his  own  community,  is  a  sort 
of  minister.  And  is  he  not?  Certainly — of  course ! 
That  is  exactly  what  Knut  is  now. 

The  next  morning  he  felt  lazy,  and  was  still  in 
bed  in  the  open  attic  when  his  aged  grandmother 
tottered  in  on  her  poor  legs  with  some  coffee  on  a 


290  God  and  Woman 


tray  and  some  heather  in  a  glass.    Yes,  yes — such  a 
waiting  woman  is,  at  any  rate,  no  child. 

But  afterwards  there  was  more  trouble.     There 
were  so  many  memories — so  many  things  to  be  seen 
again  and  to  be  asked  for  forgiveness,  because  he 
had  not  cared  for  them  before.     He  walked  over 
the  meadows,  where,  as  a  little  boy,  he,  together 
with  other  boys,  had  driven  the  sheep  home.    So — 
the  old  pine-tree  stands  there  still :  and  it  has  not . 
become  much  larger.     But,  after  all,  how  could  it 
be  expected  to  grow — the  soil  was  but  a  thin  crust,  j 
and  the  storms  were  everlasting!     Dear  friend — \ 
that  is  what  it  means  to  be  born  in  poverty.    You\ 
and  I  know  by  experience  what  it  means.    All  we/ 
can  do  is  to  try  to  make  life  a  little  easier  f or^  \ 
others. 

Down  below  are  the  cottages — they  have  become 
so  small.  And  the  fjord  has  become  so  wide.  And 
here  he  sits.  Well,  well — are  you  sitting  here  at 
last? 

Knut,  the  mighty  one?  Well,  well — and  yet! 
"  Proletarians  in  every  land,  unite ! "  said  the 
master — a  world  idea!  Cyrus,  Alexander,  Caesar, 
Napoleon — they  had  a  similar  idea :  every  will  on 
earth  under  one  idea — the  Internationale — a  com- 
monwealth of  the  world !  And  to  be  ruled  by  whom 
—yes,  by  whom?  Naturally,  by  an  idea — which 
places  a  great  responsibility  upon  me:  for  I  am 
the  truth — or  at  least  one  of  its  Generals.  You  be- 
come, in  one  age,  a  prophet ;  in  another,  a  General ; 
in  a  third,  a  priest — that  is  a  revolutionary  speaker 


God  and  Woman  291 

— that  is  what  you  are  in  our  day.  You  are  the 
same  person.  The  storm  is  in  your  soul,  and  who 
is  there  can  hold  it  back?  The  Cavalry  General, 
Murat,  swings  his  sword  over  his  head :  Hey,  there, 
my  dragoons,  now  the  batjtle  begins — chargez!  The 
revolutionary  speaker  does  exactly  the  same  thing. 
He  has  the  same  joy  of  battle.  He  is  the  same  per- 
son. Chargez! 

And  now  you  are  sitting  here.  Now  you  are 
about  to  make  the  rounds  of  the  places  which  have 
been  held  sacred  in  your  memory.  But  will  they 
seem  the  same  as  they  did  once  long  ago  through 
the  eyes  of  the  small  boy?  Hasn't  there  come  to 
be  too  much  of  the  printing-press  in  your  soul? 

He  had  decided  to  visit  Dyrendal  the  following 
day.  But  do  not  remind  him  that  once  upon  a  time 
he  was  driven  away  from  there  as  a  thief.  Our  mis- 
fortunes, our  plans  for  revenge  and  reparation  be- 
come so  ridiculously  small  when  we  look  at  them,! 
from  a  distance.  Naturally,  he  wanted  to  see  his 
old  acquaintances.  He  intended  to  step  in  to  see 
Nils — not  to  hold  him  to  account,  but  to  present 
him  with  a  gold  watch. 

Once  more,  as  he  set  out  for  Dyrendal,  his  grand- 
mother accompanied  him  on  the  way.  But  this 
time  she  could  not  go  far — only  to  the  gate.  And, 
once  more,  there  were  many  little  troubles  she 
confided  to  him  because  he  was  her  only  protection 
on  earth. 

She  thanked  him  for  all  his  letters,  and  for  the 
money  they  had  often  contained.  She  had  made 


292  God  and  Woman 

friends  with  one  of  the  neighbours,  who  read  the 
letters  to  her,  because  it  wasn't  necessary  that  the 
folks  in  the  house  should  know  everything. 

The  new  black  skirt  still  hung  in  the  attic,  and 
there  it  should  hang  until  he  had  a  wife  who  could 
use  it.  And  the  six  handkerchiefs  were  still  in  the 
right-hand  drawer  of  the  commode.  Gunhild 
should  have  them. 

At  the  gate,  however,  she  must  turn  around. 

"  Can't  you  go  with  me  a  bit  farther?  " 

She  turned  toward  the  fjord  and  shaded  her 
eyes  with  her  hand. 

"  Oh,  no — it  will  be  so  far  to  go  back  again,"  she 
said. 

He  looked  after  her  for  a  moment,  as  she  walked 
toward  the  little  cottage,  leaning  on  her  cane.  Once1 
more  she  had  awakened  a  hymn  that  seemed  to 
stream  through  his  entire  being.  Who  is  rich,  if 
not  the  person  who  has  such  a  grandmother  to  re- 
member? 

He  approached  Dyrendal.  In  the  courtyard  there 
was  a  man  wearing  an  old  yellow  straw  hat  and  a 
white  shirt.  He  emptied  water  from  a  large  barrel 
into  buckets,  which  he  then  carried  into  the  kitchen. 
He  had  a  full  beard.  It  was  Mis. 

"  Well — great  heavens ! — and  I  thought  it  was  a 
sewing-machine  agent,"  he  said. 

Knut  was  at  Dyrendal  again,  and  he  remembered 
the  first  time  he  came  here.  Whitey?  Died  many 
years  ago!  The  bay  mare?  Dead  also!  Peter 
Eriksen  and  John  K6?  Both  dead !  Nils  and  Knut 


God  and  Woman  293 

chatted  for  some  time  about  one  thing  and  another. 
A  child  was  crying  in  the  house.  Oh,  yes — Knut 
must  go  in  for  a  moment. 

Then  came  the  moment  when  he  took  a  package 
from  his  pocket  and  gave  it  to  Mis.  Nils  was  com- 
pletely confused.  At  first  he  was  curious ;  but  when 
he  discovered  what  the  package  contained,  it  nearly 
fell  out  of  his  hand  to  the  floor.  He  looked  at  Knut 
and  became  crimson. 

"  Is  it  a  joke — or  have  you  gone  stark  mad? 
Come  here,  Olina !  What  in  the  world  is  the  mean- 
ing of  this?  " 

A  short  time  later  Knut  knocked  at  the  door  of 
the  little  red  cottage  in  the  meadow. 

"Come  in!" 

A  white-haired  woman  sat  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  spinning.  He  was  met  with  the  odour  of  the 
large  house  at  Dyrendal  in  former  days — an  odour 
of  coffee,  tobacco,  potted  plants,  and  fresh  spruce 
on  the  floor. 

"Good  day!" 

"  It  seemed  strange  not  to  see  Martha,  herself,  in 
the  large  house  any  longer,"  said  Knut  shaking 
hands  with  her. 

To  his  surprise  the  spinning-wheel  stopped,  and 
an  emotion  she  had  been  able  to  repress  until  now 
burst  its  bounds. 

"  Yes,  no  doubt,  that  is  something  you  knew," 
she  said.  "And  still  you  went  down  there  first." 
Big  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks. 

He  realized  wrhat  it  meant  for  Hans  and  Martha 


294  God  and  Woman 

to  live  as  pensioners  in  the  servants'  quarters.  No 
doubt  they  watched  constantly  the  stream  of  life 
that  went  its  accustomed  way  to  the  large  house  at 
Dyrendal,  whether  they  or  others  were  there  as 
master  and  mistress.  But  they,  themselves,  were 
forgotten,  and  did  not  have  much  else  to  do  than  to 
gather  bitterness  in  their  hearts  and  grow  old. 

A  moment  later  her  face  brightened,  and  *she 
looked  into  his  eyes. 

"  You  did  become  a  public  speaker  after  all,  Knut. 
But  I  don't  suppose  you  remember  the  time  when 
you  used  to  clean  the  stable  for  me?  "  She  smiled 
as  if  she  had  been  bold  again,  to  remind  a  man 
with  a  white  vest  about  such  things. 

"  Yes,  are  you  not  coming  to  hear  me  soon?  " 

She  smiled,  and  began  to  spin  again. 

'"  Oh,  no — it  must  be  dreadful  nonsense  you  are 
spreading  about  and  trying  to  make  people  believe." 

"  Do  you  think  it  is  such  nonsense  that  we  want 
to  get  rid  of  the  big- wigs?  " 

She  looked  at  him  from  head  to  foot,  raised  her 
eyebrows,  and  said : 

"  Big- wig — what  about  you,  then?  What  do  you 
think  you  are?  " 

They  had  a  good  laugh  over  that.  She  rose  from 
her  chair. 

"  I  suppose  you  would  like  a  cup  of  coffee?  " 

"  I  should  like  a  cup  of  coffee.  But  where  is  the 
master,  himself?" 

"  Master,  himself — yes !  "  she  repeated  after  him. 


God  and  Woman  295 

"  I  suppose  he  is  attending  a  meeting  of  the  dis- 
trict corporation,  or  something  of  that  sort." 

"  One  can  easily  see  that  you  are  a  stranger  here. 
Do  you  believe  people  will  vote  for  a  man  who  lives 
in  the  servants'  quarters?  You  must  ask  the  man 
in  the  large  house  about  the  district  corporation. 
He  has  become  a  politician — and  a  liberal.  The  sac- 
ristan from  Vassby  comes  over  every  little  while 
and  gives  him  his  opinions." 

"  Yes ;  but  I  should  like  very  much  to  see  Hans 
again." 

"  Well — you  will  find  him  in  the  fields  or  up  in 
the  pasture,  unless  Nils  is  near-by.  It  is  not  an 
easy  matter  always  to  pass  the  time  away." 

She  was  busy  in  the  kitchen  for  some  time  pre- 
paring the  coffee.  Then  she  opened  the  door  and 
looked  in. 

"  Knut,  there  is  one  thing  I  should  like  to  ask 
you  about." 

"Yes— what  is  that?" 

"  Do  you  tell  people  in  your  speeches  that  poverty 
is  very  bad — that  there  is  nothing  in  the  world 
worse  than  that  ?  " 

At  that  moment  Hans  opened  the  door  and  came 
in.  He  was  in  his  shirt- sleeves,  without  a  vest,  and 
had  a  pipe  in  his  hand.  His  beard  was  almost  white. 
The  few  tufts  of  hair  he  had  left  were  stiff  as  a 
brush. 

"  Well,  well — I  see  the  overseer  has  come  back," 
lie  said,  as  full  of  fun  as  ever. 

Then  the  two  old  people  drank  coffee  with  this 


296  God  and  Woman 

young  fellow  in  the  white  vest,  who  had  once  been 
their  herd-boy.  Hans  almost  choked  when  Martha 
said: 

"  Are  you  as  good  a  rider  as  you  used  to  be?  " 

"  Eider?  " 

"  Yes,  don't  you  remember  how  you  used  to  ride, 
up  in  the  pasture,  on  the  old  ox?  " 

Then  they  all  laughed  again. 

"  It  seems  good  to  have  a  hearty  laugh  once 
more,"  said  Martha,  and  she  made  the  cottage  ring 
with  her  Daughter. 

Hans  became  serious  as  he  put  down  the  cup. 

"  To  tell  the  truth,  Knut,"  he  said,  "  I  thought 
quite  as  much  of  you  as  I  did  of  certain  other  per- 
sons at  Dyrendal." 

Martha  sneered. 

"  I  suppose  he  cares  a  great  deal  about  that," 
she  said. 

When  Knut  went  away  Nils  was  watching  for 
him,  and  accompanied  him  some  distance  down  the 
road. 

He  was  embarrassed,  and  found  it  difficult  to  ex- 
press what  he  had  in  his  mind. 

At  last  he  stopped  and  became  even  more  em- 
barrassed. 

"  There  is  one  thing  I  want  to  talk  to  you  about," 
he  said  nervously. 

"  And  what  is  that?  "  Knut  put  his  hands  in 
his  pockets  and  displayed  his  white  vest. 

"  If  I  had  known  what  I  know  now,  I  should  not 


God  and  Woman  297 

have  suspected  you  that  time.  I  must  ask  you  to 
forgive  me  for  that." 

"  Do  you  know  who  did  it?  " 

"  Oh,  yes — I  am  sorry  to  say/'  said  Mis,  smiling 
out  of  the  corner  of  his  mouth.  "  Lately  it  has  be- 
come necessary  to  keep  the  stabur  locked  both  day 
and  night.  But  it  is  best  not  to  talk  about  that." 

Nils  decided  to  accompany  Knut  a  bit  farther. 
His  body  was  rotund  and  his  knees  were  stiff,  as  in 
former  days.  His  lot  was  not  an  enviable  one,  he 
said.  It  was  no  easy  matter  to  go,  day  in  and  day 
out,  year  after  year,  and  scrape  and  bow  and  thank 
for  what  he  had  received.  But  that  was  what  cer- 
tain persons  expected.  They  did  not  do  a  single 
thing  from  morning  until  night  but  just  sit  around 
and  expect  that. 

"  It  would  surprise  you  to  know  what  Olina  had 
to  put  up  with,"  he  continued.  "  If  she  does  not 
go  up  and  ask  the  old  folks  for  permission  to  do 
this  and  that  in  the  house,  there  is  no  peace,  and 
the  old  woman  will  sulk  for  a  month.  I  have  been 
wanting  to  invite  my  mother  to  make  us  a  visit,  but 
I  am  afraid  the  old  folks  would  make  a  disturbance. 
If  I  have  received  anything  here,  you  may  be  sure 
I  have  had  to  pay  for  it."  Mis  clung  close  to  Knut. 

"  And  can  you  imagine  why  in  the  world  they  stay 
here,  when  they  know  very  well  they  only  make 
trouble?  They  have  enough  to  live  on,  and  live 
comfortably.  They  might  take  pleasure  trips  here 
and  there.  But  if  they  did,  I  suppose  they  would 


298  God  and  Woman 

not  be  able  to  look  at  our  fingers  constantly."  Nils 
stopped  and  tried  to  smile. 

Knut  had  no  desire  to  hear  any  more.  He  bade 
Nils  good-bye  and  took  the  path  up  to  the  summer 
pasture.  He  wanted  to  be  among  the  hills  again, 
and  to  lie  down  on  his  back  in  the  sun  and  try  to 
see  the  world  once  more  through  the  eyes  of  the 
herd-boy. 

Up  near  Lookout  Hill  he  met  a  young  girl  who 
was  knitting  a  stocking.  Her  face  reminded  him 
of  one  he  felt  he  had  known  at  some  time. 

"  Whose  daughter  are  you,  my  little  girl?  " 

The  girl  stared  at  this  gentleman  who  had  strayed 
far  out  into  the  pasture. 

"  Oh,  my  father  is  Kristian  Haug,"  she  said. 

"  Indeed — can  it  be  possible?  Are  you  the  daugh- 
ter of  Jonetta — and  almost  grown  up?  Well,  well 
— how  the  time  flies!  You  may  greet  your  mother 
from  one  whose  clothes  she  carried  off  once  when  he 
was  bathing  in  the  lake." 

He  went  on — musing : 

"  She  is  the  oldest,  no  doubt — but  I  wonder  who 
really  is  her  father?" 

Across  the  lake  he  saw  a  large  yellow  house. 
Smoke  rose  from  the  chimney  as  formerly.  But 
other  people  were  living  there  now.  Pauline  was 
no  longer  alive. 

The  following  day  old  John  Skaret  from  the  ham- 
let came  up  to  Dyrendal.  He  was  dressed  in  his 
Sunday  clothes  and  had  an  important  errand. 


God  and  Woman  299 

"  Well — what  important  business  have  you  on 
to-day?  " 

"  Oh,  I  am  out  with  invitations  to  a  wedding," 
said  John  mysteriously,  and  walked  on. 

Nils  could  not  control  his  curiosity.  "  A  wedding 
—where  is  that  going  to  be?  " 

"  The  wedding  will  be  at  Hamren,"  he  said.  He 
continued  up  to  the  servants'  house,  placed  his  cane 
beside  the  door,  wiped  his  feet  well,  and  went  inside, 
carrying  his  coat  over  his  arm. 

On  the  following  Sunday  morning  Mis  saw  that 
Martha  and  Hans  started  out  afoot  down  the  road. 
A  wedding — was  there  to  be  a  wedding  at  Hamren? 

He  found  out  more  about  it  later  in  the  day  when 
he  was  on  his  way  to  church  in  the  company  of 
neighbours.  As  they  were  driving  along  they  had 
to  turn  out  to  make  way  for  a  procession. 

The  Surrey  from  Linde,  drawn  by  two  horses,- 
drove  by.  In  it  were  Knut  and  his  grandmother, 
old  and  wrinkled,  but  dressed  up  for  the  occasion. 
She  smiled  and  yet  had  constantly  to  dry  her  eyes 
with  her  handkerchief.  Knut's  father  and  his 
sister,  Gunhild,  sat  in  the  front  seat.  Then  came 
Martha  and  Hans  in  a  borrowed  gig,  and,  after 
them,  a  long  row  of  carriages  of  various  sorts.  The 
fishermen  from  the  hamlet,  who  usually  had  to  walk 
the  long  distance  to  the  church,  this  day  were 
riding. 

"  That  is  the  wedding,"  said  one,  staring  at  the 
procession,  which  rumbled  along,  raising  a  long 
cloud  of  dust. 


300  God  and  Woman 

"  The  wedding?  " 

"  Yes,  Knut  calls  it  that.  But,  in  reality,  he  is 
celebrating  his  grandmother's  birthday  to-day.  I 
was  in  the  hamlet  no  longer  ago  than  yesterday,  and 
the  little  cottage  was  decorated  with  leaves  and 
heather.  To-day  all  the  flags  in  the  hamlet  are  fly- 
ing. And  all  the  companions  of  his  youth  have 
been  invited.  I  imagine  there  will  be  a  big  wedding 
at  Hamren  to-night." 

Well,  well — and  Nils  was  not  invited,  and  Knut 
had  not  borrowed  any  horses  from  him  either. 

And  the  old  folks  were  using  a  borrowed  gig. 
That  was  done,  no  doubt,  to  bring  disgrace  upon 
Nils — that  folks  might  see  how  ungrateful  he  was 
and  how  badly  they  were  being  treated.  It  was, 
no  doubt,  a  well-planned  scheme. 

It  was  a  trick  they  had  played  upon  him  that  he 
would  not  soon  forget. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  Vll 

THERE  is  no  snow  on  the  ground  this  year,  although 
it  is  nearly  Christmas.  Grain  is  being  threshed 
during  the  day.  There  is  an  odour  of  it  every- 
where. The  straw  blows  sky  high  over  the  roofs, 
and,  at  night,  it  is  dark  and  cold,  and  the  stars  are 
shining. 

The  wind  has  begun  to  blow.  At  night,  if  one  is 
awake,  one  can  see  a  faint  light  moving  stealthily 
over  the  floor.  It  is  not  the  moonlight — it  is  the 
reflection  of  the  red  storm-clouds  that  sail  across 
the  sky  out  there  in  the  night. 

Martha  lies  in  bed,  awake,  and  looks  at  the  floor. 
Hans  is  sleeping.  Dyrendal  sleeps.  No  doubt, 
many  things  are  moving  about  that  cannot  be  seen 
by  daylight.  Someone  enters  the  cottage.  A 
stranger — it  is  he !  He  did  not  open  the  door,  nor 
did  he  shut  it.  Yet  he  stands  there.  He  sits  down 
upon  a  chair  near  her. 

"  Do  you  know  me?  " 

"  Oh,  yes  " — she  saw  him  when  he  was  a  mere 
child,  and  she  has  not  forgotten  him.  Thus  he  looks 
now,  when  he  is  over  thirty  years  old.  He  has  a 
watch-chain  on  his  vest,  like  other  young  men.  It 
is  her  son.  He  has  no  voice,  poor  fellow,  but  he 
looks  at  her,  and  she  understands  him:  "You 

301 


302  God  and  Woman 

shouldn't  have  done  it,  mother.  You  should  have 
waited  a  few  years  longer.  Perhaps  I  might  have 
been  allowed  to  be  born." 

Martha  places  her  hand  over  her  eyes  and  groans. 

An  hour  later  she  is  in  the  midst  of  her  strange 
settling  of  scores  with  Him  above,  who  has  all 
power  on  His  side,  and  who  uses  it  so  mercilessly 
against  a  poor  defenceless  being. 

What  can  she  do? — fall  upon  her  face?  Oh,  no — 
not  yet.  We  have  been  in  the  presence  of  the  great 
before.  Become  desperate — yes,  that  she  can  do! 
Defy  Him — commit  sin — oh!  But  does  it  help? 
There  is  a  little  cupboard,  which  has  a  drawer,  well 
locked.  When  she  is  all  alone,  it  might  happen 
that  she  opens  the  drawer,  but  the  door  must  be 
locked  first,  and  the  curtains  rolled  down.  Look 
there — silver  plate,  twelve  crowns  in  an  envelope, 
spoons,  forks,  goblets,  several  shillings!  Theft — 
sin — glaring  sin — sin  in  silver !  But  how  powerless 
they  are — these  attempts  to  pull  at  the  rope  a  little 
from  another  quarter!  Defiance — a  grimace  at 
heaven!  Yes — but  only  a  grimace!  It  is  all  so 
fruitless  that  she  can  only  throw  herself  down 
and  sob. 

Did  the  stranger  leave?  Oh,  dearest  one,  won't 
you  stay — even  if  it  is  only  for  the  night — and  even 
if  no  one  sees  you  but  I  ? 

The  woman  who  has  a  son  does  not  age.  Her  son 
is  her  youth,  renewed.  He  is  the  life  which  death 
can  never  conquer.  Her  son  is  the  image  of  Him 


God  and  Woman  303 

in  whom  we  must  believe.  Her  own  son — yes,  even 
|he  can  become  a  Saviour  for  her. 

She  turned  over  in  her  bed.  She  discovered  that 
Hans  also  had  been  lying  awake.  He  said : 

"  I  don't  want  to  stay  here  any  longer  as  an  object 
of  mockery  and  derision.  I  must  buy  a  farm  that 
will  be  my  own." 

Martha  pretended  she  slept. 

The  wind  howled  about  the  eaves  and  rafters. 
Light  reflected  from  the  clouds  constantly  moved 
across  the  floor. 

It  is  at  this  hour  that  the  real  soul  of  man  asserts 
itself  and  wanders  about.  A  young,  beautiful 
woman  becomes  an  old,  grey  cat.  A  respectable 
citizen,  who  has  been  recently  elected  a  member 
of  the  district  corporation,  becomes  a  humpbacked 
tailor  with  measuring-tape  and  pressing-iron.  He 
may  be  seen  walking  across  the  barnyard.  It  is 
the  cow-stable  he  wants  to  reach.  By  the  light  of 
the  storm-clouds  one  can  see  that  his  face  is 
wrinkled  and  his  eyes  are  yellow. 

That  is  the  way  he  looks. 

The  door  to  the  cow-stable  opens.  The  cows  fret 
as  when  they  scent  a  beast  of  prey.  But  the  visitor 
has  an  errand.  It  is  to  see  the  two  cows  which 
belong  to  Martha  and  Hans. 

Ah — how  the  poor  cows  bellow  because  they  get 
nothing  to  eat.  Don't  they  get  straw — and  water — 
and  sawdust?  Isn't  that  good  enough?  They  are 
becoming  poorer,  of  course,  and  soon  the  milk  they 
give  will  be  nothing  but  water;  but  isn't  that  good 


304  God  and  Woman 

enough  for  the  old  folks?  Did  they  carry  off  the 
furniture,  or  did  they  not?  Are  they  going  to  live 
for  ever?  No,  the  two  cows  that  belong  to  them 
shall  become  so  poor  that  they  are  nothing  but  skin 
and  bones,  some  day. 

The  clock  ticks.  Martha  again  places  her  hand 
over  her  eyes,  sighs,  and  tries  to  go  to  sleep. 

It  was  after  midnight  that  Olina  woke  up.  She 
sat  up  in  bed  and  rubbed  her  eyes.  It  was  not  that 
the  child  was  crying.  Something  else  was  happen- 
ing somewhere  about  her — at  least  somewhere  at 
Dyrendal.  It  was  not  fire — but  she  must  get  up. 

She  walked  barefoot  across  the  floor  toward 
the  window  and  looked  out.  Several  moments 
passed. 

"Mis!" 

"  Hem !  "  he  said  in  his  sleep. 

"  Nils,  get  up !    Come  here  to  the  window." 

"  What  is  the  trouble?  "    At  last  he  was  awake. 

"  Come  here,  Mis !  " 

He  went  in  the  darkness  and  stood  beside  her. 

"  What  is  going  on  in  the  cow-stable,  Mis?  There 
is  someone  there." 

"  Thieves — now,  in  the  dead  of  night !  " 

Both  saw  a  light  in  the  windows.  It  was  not  a 
light  left  by  mistake.  It  moved. 

"  Well — great  heavens !  " 

"  Is  it  thieves,  do  you  think? "  Olina's  voice 
quivered.  She  gripped  his  sleeve. 

He  remained  silent  for  some  time,  staring  at  the 
cow-stable.  Finally  he  said : 


God  and  Woman  305 

"  It  is  not  very  hard  to  guess  who  it  is." 

"  Do  you  think  it  is-- — ?  " 

"  Olina,  I  wonder  if  we  are  ever  going  to  have 
peace  here!  This  matter  might  as  well  be  settled 
first  as  last." 

He  began  to  put  on  his  clothes. 

"  Nils,  you  must  not  leave  me  alone  here." 

"  Hold  your  tongue.  This  thing  must  come  to  an 
end  sometime." 

He  was  cold.  His  teeth  chattered.  But  he  stole 
out  through  the  door  very  quietly. 

In  the  cow-stable  there  are  light  steps  upon  the 
slippery  floor.  The  lantern  stands  still.  The  per- 
son inside  bends  forward  and  listens,  not  to  the 
wind,  but  to  all  of  these  resting  animals — to  the 
breathing  of  these  animals  in  the  peaceful  night. 
She  is  fascinated  by  this. 

"  How  do  you  dare  to  disturb  our  sleep  ?  Have 
we  anything  to  do  with  your  sorrows,  enemies,  sins, 
and  troubles?  Are  we  not  innocent?  Why  do  you 
break  in  and  awaken  us,  just  at  this  time,  when  we 
might  otherwise  lie  here  and  dream  about  freedom 
throughout  the  long  night?  " 

The  person  in  the  barn  stands  still  and  closes  her 
eyes.  She  hears  this  complaint,  which  seems  to 
come  from  the  sleeping  animals,  and  she  must  admit 
it  is  just. 

But  how  can  she  have  peace  until  the  two  cows 
which  belong  to  her  have  had  something  to  eat? 
She  finds  some  meal  in  a  pail  intended  for  the  pigs. 


306  God  and  Woman 

This  she  carries  to  the  two  cows,  holds  up  the 
light  to  them,  and  places  the  pail  of  meal  before 
one  of  them.  She  fetches  a  tub  of  boiled  potatoes 
for  the  other.  Then  she  brings  an  armful  of  hay, 
which  she  divides  between  them. 

The  cows  do  not  rise.    They  want  to  rest. 

There — she  pats  them.  There  is  still  something 
in  the  world  that  needs  her  care.  There,  there ! 

At  last  she  wipes  her  hands  on  her  dress,  raises 
the  lantern,  and  lights  up  the  entire  stable.  There 
are  strange  cows.  The  cow  Nils  and  Olina  received 
from  the  sacristan  has  already  had  a  calf,  which 
occupies  a  separate  box-stall.  That  is  one  way  the 
sacristan  is  worming  his  way  into  Dyrendal.  There 
are  several  other  strange  cows  spreading  them- 
selves. They  seemed  to  own  the  stable — they  and 
Mis.  She  had  a  strong  desire  to  raise  her  finger 
and  lay  upon  them  the  ancient  curse :  "  May  sick- 
ness and  disease  strike  down  the  cows!  May  the 
calves  be  born  dead !  May  the  milk  turn  into  blood 
and  stench !  May " 

The  door  opened.  There  were  steps.  Nils  ap- 
peared in  the  yellow  lantern-light.  They  stood  still 
for  a  moment  and  looked  at  each  other.  Nils 
approached.  His  face  was  pale — ugly.  Here,  in 
the  peaceful  stable,  in  the  dead  of  night,  she  seemed 
to  him  no  longer  a  human  being,  but  an  evil  spirit. 

"  What,  in  the  Lord's  name,  are  you  doing  here 
at  this  hour  of  the  night?  "  he  hissed. 

"  That  is  not  your  affair,  you  fool !  " 


God  and  Woman  3°7 

"  Leave  this  stable  at  once !  There  is  nothing 
here  you  can  steal  to-night." 

"Ha,  ha,  ha!" 

The  entire  stable  was  smitten  with  the  excite- 
ment. 

These  raging  voices  and  clenched  fists  and  dis- 
torted faces  in  the  yellow  light  were  more  terrify- 
ing than  the  storm  outside.  One  cow  after  the 
other  rose,  crowded  farther  up  in  the  stall,  turned 
her  head,  and  lowed.  The  bell-cow  woke  up,  and 
when  she  rose  to  her  feet,  her  bell  rang  as  if  she 
were  calling  for  help  from  the  sleeping  stable. 

The  lantern  finally  reached  the  little  red  cottage. 
Hans  was  awrakened  by  a  hand  which  touched  his 
shoulder. 

"  Get  up,  man !  " 

"  What  is  the  trouble?  " 

"  Get  up  this  moment !  We  have  been  driven 
away  from  Dyrendal." 

Hans  became  wide  awake,  sat  up  in  the  bed,  and 
stared  at  her.  Was  she  insane? 

"  Driven  away !  No  one  can  drive  us  away  from 
Dyrendal.  We  have  a  right  to  be  here.  But  what 
is  the  trouble  now,  at  this  hour  of  the  night?  " 

"  You  sleep  and  don't  care  about  anything,  while 
he  threatens  us  with  the  bailiff  and  jail.  But  if  you 
insist  on  remaining  here  an  hour  longer  you  will 
see  that  I  shall  do  things  that  will  frighten  both 
you  and  others.  Will  you  put  on  your  clothes  or 
will  you  not?  " 

"  But  where  in  the  world  can  we  go  at  this  hour 


308  God  and  Woman 

of  the  night? "  Hans  was  bewildered,  and 
scratched  his  few  remaining  tufts  of  white  hair. 

"  You  shall  know  everything,  but  come  now.  The 
shame  shall  be  fastened  upon  him  that  he  drove 
us  from  Dyrendal  in  the  middle  of  the  night." 

Hans  looked  at  her  in  a  manner  as  if  he  were 
very  much  puzzled. 

"  Great  heavens !  "  he  exclaimed,  as  he  began  to 
dress. 

Martha  became  thoughtful.  There  were  certain 
things  they  must  take  with  them — bedding,  money, 
coffee-pot. 

Now,  toward  morning,  the  northwest  wind  had 
become  stronger,  and  had  swept  the  sky  clear  ex- 
cept for  a  white  or  fiery  cloud  here  and  there  that 
was  whisked  along  under  the  stars. 

Above  the  black  mountains  in  the  east  an  ice-cold 
moon  appeared.  It  looked  down  quietly  upon  two 
forms  that  moved  along  the  road,  driven  by  the 
wind,  loaded  down  with  bedding  and  baskets,  their 
shadows  following  them  like  drifting  clouds  over 
the  frozen  ground. 

The  wind  forced  them  to  take  long  steps  and  to 
hurry  on.  It  was  as  if  they  were  being  driven  with 
lashes,  doomed  never  to  come  back  again. 

At  the  house  of  Kristian  Haug  there  were  loud 
knocks  on  the  door.  He  woke  up.  There  were  more 
knocks.  He  got  up  and  went  to  the  window.  There 
were  people  outside.  The  devil!  Did  they  expect 
him  to  let  them  in  at  this  hour? 


God  and  Woman  309 

Ah — he  seemed  to  recognize  one  of  them.  Well, 
well 

When  he  opened  the  door  he  saw  Hans  and 
Martha. 

"  You  must  take  us  in,  Kristian,"  said  Martha. 
"  We  are  homeless.  He  has  driven  us  away  from 
Dyrendal." 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  VIII 

IT  was  clear  they  could  not  remain  for  ever  with 
one  of  Mis  Dyrendal's  cottagers. 

Oh,  wait  at  any  rate  until  Hans  has  had  a  good 
sleep.  But  sleep — that  was  exactly  what  he  was 
neither  willing  nor  able  to  do.  Sleep?  Hans  had 
at  last  become  furious.  He  went  about  with  blood- 
shot eyes,  and  pounded  the  walls,  and  frightened 
both  Jonetta  and  the  children.  When  it  became 
dark  he  would  wander  in  the  direction  of  Dyrendal 
and  walk  in  wide  circles  around  it.  He  would  stare 
at  the  large  house,  and  chew  his  tobacco  cud  vigor- 
ously and  spit  and  spit.  Ha,  ha !  It  was  not  true. 
He  was  dreaming.  He  had  not  been  so  foolish.  It 
was  a  lie.  That  scoundrel !  Dyrendal — the  salmon- 
fishery — the  woods — swept  away !  A  herring-catch 
again — swept  to  sea — no,  not  this  time!  It  was  a 
lie — a  lie — a  lie ! 

He  walked  on.  He  tore  at  his  beard.  He  put  his 
fingers  through  his  slender  fringe  of  hair.  He  made 
straight  for  Dyrendal.  He  would  go  in — throw 
them  out—  But,  wait  a  bit- — then  there  might 
be —  He  looked  at  his  fists. 

He  walked  on  again,  and  stopped  again.  Ha,  ha! 
Set  fire  to  it — the  devil,  no !  See — there  is  Dyrendal 
— see  there !  A  light  is  burning  in  the  living-room. 

310 


God  and  Woman  311 

They  are  enjoying  themselves!  They  are  comfort- 
able! But  he — he  is  homeless!  He  walked  and 
walked,  and  stared  at  the  bright  and  cosy  house 
that  no  longer  belonged  to  him. 

He  did  not  know  that  Kristian  Haug  was  follow- 
ing him  at  a  distance. 

Martha  threatened  him  one  day  with  the  doctor 
and  the  insane  asylum  if  he  did  not  go  to  sleep  that 
night. 

At  last  the  powerful  old  man  did  go  to  sleep.  He 
occupied  the  little  spare  bedroom,  and  he  slept  two 
days  and  two  nights. 

"  Can't  you  get  them  to  go  away?  "  said  Jonetta 
to  Kristian.  "  It  makes  me  feel  creepy  to  have 
them  here  any  longer." 

Finally  they  did  go  away. 

Hans  had  been  going  about  the  last  few  days 
looking  down  and  casting  mysterious  side  glances. 
A  large  farm  across  the  lake  would  be  sold  at  auc- 
tion to  the  highest  bidder.  A  bold  venture  with 
the  net  again!  Wait — you  shall  see!  Even  if  he 
had  been  fleeced,  he  would  show  them  that  he  was 
man  enough  to  gather  riches  once  more.  Big  man, 
member  of  Parliament — oh,  he  was  not  an  old  man 
yet!  That  scoundrel  at  Dyrendal  would  see. 

They  went  to  the  auction.  Hans  was  one  of  the 
bidders.  Martha  perspired  and  shivered.  She 
knew  that  the  little  money  they  had  left  would  be 
staked  on  an  uncertainty.  Begin  with  a  mort- 
gage— a  risk — these  two  old  people?  Never  mind 
—let  it  go !  He  must  rage  until  he  is  through. 


312  God  and  Woman 

The  bids  began  to  mount.  It  was  an  estate  for 
a  big-wig — woods,  cottages,  horses,  cows.  The  bids 
went  higher.  Anyone  else?  Hans  put  tufts  of  his 
beard  in  his  mouth,  and  was  pale.  He  bid  higher 
— then  he  bowed  his  head  and  remained  silent. 
Was  he  afraid  to  make  another  bid?  Was  he  not 
the  same  any  longer  as  when  he  made  the  big  ven- 
ture and  bought  Dyrendal? 

Do  I  hear  another  bid?  The  bailiff  looked  at  him 
and  raised  his  hammer.  It  fell.  Hans  was  too 
much  ashamed  to  look  at  Martha.  They  went  away 
as  homeless  as  they  came. 

Are  you  an  old  man  now,  Hans? 

But  they  could  begin  in  a  small  way,  as  they  did 
when  they  were  young.  Then  they  might  look 
around  for  a  good  chance  to  buy  something  bigger 
later  on.  There  was  no  great  hurry. 

They  bought  a  little  farm  across  the  fjord. 
From  there  they  could  see  Dyrendal  as  a  little 
speck  among  the  hills  far  away  in  another  parish. 
They  had  a  couple  of  cows  and  a  little  horse  again. 
Hans  helped  to  clean  the  stable,  and  Martha  would 
sometimes  lend  a  hand  in  the  field,  as  in  former 
days. 

It  was  a  relief  to  work  hard  and  become  tired. 
After  a  hard  day's  work  it  was  possible  to  sleep. 
The  day  came  when  they  did  not  have  the  energy 
to  rage  and  talk  about  their  misfortune  any  more. 
But  they  did  want  to  rise  in  the  world  again — not 
at  one  throw,  oh,  no — not  yet,  at  any  rate;  but 
they  could  save  and  save,  and  add  shilling  to 


God  and  Woman  313 

shilling — up,  up !  They  did  want  riches  again  and 
their  former  splendour. 

Their  thoughts  were  on  Dyrendal.  When  they 
closed  their  eyes  at  night  they  were  the  master  and 
mistress  again.  They  drove  up  the  avenue  lined 
with  trees.  They  walked  through  the  fields  to 
examine  the  crops.  They  had  feasts  for  the  big- 
wigs in  the  large  bright  rooms — until  Nils  would 
appear  from  the  darkness  and  throw  them  out.  But 
it  was  a  relief  to  rise  early  in  the  morning  and 
work  hard  all  day.  So  they  toiled  on,  in  order  to 
save,  and  to  forget,  and  to  sleep. 

They  became  greedy — not  exactly  for  money — 
they  were  collecting  weapons.  They  wanted  re- 
venge. How,  they  did  not  know  exactly,  yet,  but 
they  must  have  money.  Do  not  tell  Hans  any  more 
that  horse-trading  is  not  proper.  Ah,  the  old  devil 
which  he  had  kept  down  for  so  many  years,  at  last 
he  must  be  let  loose  again.  There  were  still  fairs. 
Politics  and  revivals — the  devil  may  care!  Scoun- 
drel— never  mind !  He  did  not  drive  up  the  avenue 
to  Dyrendal  any  more — not  yet.  And  a  drink  to 
ratify  a  bargain — when  that  happened  Martha  must 
take  him  back  to  the  lodging-house.  And  it  hap- 
pened more  than  once,  so  folks  said.  Did  the  old 
woman  laugh  and  take  it  as  a  joke?  At  any  rate, 
it  did  not  make  her  hair  grey,  for  it  was  already 
white. 

But  Hans  was  not  the  same  man  at  horse-trading 
as  formerly.  It  seemed  to  him  the  horses  cost  so 
much.  He  did  not  dare  any  longer  to  put  so  much 


314  God  and  Woman 


at  stake.  And  the  horses  had  become  so  wild.  It 
required  great  strength  to  manage  them.  This 
powerlessness  made  him  desperate.  He  wanted  to 
make  a  big  venture  again,  if  only  to  shake  himself 
free  of  this  feeling  that  he  was  old.  He  made  up 
his  mind  to  buy  a  shipload  of  herring,  to  go  to 
some  other  place,  to  make  a  fortune.  But  he  came 
back,  and  had  not  dared  to  buy.  He  tramped 
through  the  mountains  on  his  old  legs  to  find  silver 
mines  or  copper  mines.  He  wanted  his  wealth  back. 
He  wanted  to  be  the  same  as  before. 

There  was  one  person  who  was  glad  they  had 
finally  moved  away.  That  person  was  Nils.  The 
gossip  among  the  neighbours  finally  came  to  an 
end,  and  most  of  them  took  his  part.  Didn't  they 
know  the  old  folks?  Mis  knew  in  his  heart  there 
was  only  one  thing  he  had  wished  for,  and  that  was 
peace.  But  there  could  never  be  peace  as  long  as 
the  old  folks  were  there.  Then,  too,  wasn't  it  better 
for  the  old  folks  to  get  away  than  to  fret  themselves 
sick  over  everything  they  saw?  Now  he  was  finally 
the  master  of  Dyrendal,  and  he  did  not  have  folks 
before  his  eyes  whom  he  must  constantly  thank. 
Gone — to  the  opposite  side  of  the  fjord:  it  was 
almost  too  good  to  believe. 

Nils  was  energetic  both  at  home  and  abroad.  It 
was  he  who  started  the  movement  for  the  erection 
of  a  community  electric  plant.  And  it  was  talked 
about  quite  generally  that,  at  the  next  election,  he 
would  be  made  the  chairman  of  the  parish. 

Then  he  heard  one  day  that  the  old  folks  had 


God  and  Woman  315 

sold  their  little  farm  across  the  fjord  and  bought 
another  farther  away.  They  did  not  feel  at  home. 
No,  of  course  not — they  could  not  feel  at  home 
unless  they  had  someone  to  nag  at  and  fret  over. 
The  following  year,  however,  they  had  sold  this 
place,  too.  They  did  not  feel  at  home  there,  either. 

Shortly  afterwards,  Nils  and  Olina  were  sur- 
prised one  day  by  a  bit  of  news.  The  old  folks  had 
bought  a  small  farm  in  the  immediate  neighbour- 
hood of  Dyrendal  and  would  soon  move  in.  Nils 
cursed.  His  wife  shuddered  at  the  thought  of  it. 
What  in  the  world  did  they  want  there? 

They  came. 

The  people  who  moved  to  the  little  farm  among 
the  hills  overlooking  Dyrendal  did  not  come  in 
grand  style.  The  house  had  been  red  once  upon 
a  time,  but  the  weather  had  long  since  removed  the 
paint,  except  in  patches.  Did  the  old  folks  repair 
the  house?  No,  they  dug  in  the  earth.  They 
wanted  to  save.  From  this  spot  they  could  see 
Dyrendal.  From  a  window  they  could  see  every- 
thing that  happened  in  the  fields. 

"  See,  there  is  Hans  again,"  folks  said.  When  he 
went  to  church  he  did  not  appear  as  a  big-wig  in 
a  long  overcoat  any  more.  The  minister  and  the 
doctor  did  not  shake  hands  with  him  and  inquire 
about  his  health.  He  wore  faded  homespun,  and  his 
back  was  bent.  He  preferred  not  to  mingle  with 
the  crowd.  But  still  he  looked  out  upon  the  world 
with  something  roguish  in  his  red,  watery  eyes. 

He  had  come  down  considerably.    Nils,  the  new 


316  God  and  Woman 

master  of  Dyrendal,  would  come  driving  to  church 
in  a  Surrey.  An  old  man  would  step  to  the  side 
of  the  road  to  make  way  for  him.  He  would  take 
off  his  hat.  This  old  man  was  Hans. 


The  days  passed.  The  snow  came.  It  was  Christ- 
mas-time again.  The  two  old  folks  tried  to  help  one 
another  and  chatted  together. 

"  Let  me  feed  the  cows  this  time,"  said  Hans. 

"  Oh,  no — you  have  your  wood  to  split,  and  your 
arms  are  not  very  strong,  you  know." 

"  Well,  all  right — would  you  mind  giving  the 
mare  a  bit  of  hay  while  you  are  in  the  stable,  then?  " 

"Yes,  but  listen,  Hans,  you  have  promised  and 
promised  to  get  some  fresh  bedding  for  the  pig. 
Do  you  think  he  ought  to  lie  there  in  the  wet  snow 
during  Christmas?  " 

"  Hem — you  can't  expect  me  to  remember  every- 
thing," said  Hans,  lighting  his  pipe  with  a  live,. coal 
from  the  fire. 

On  Christmas  Eve  they  had  scrubbed  both  the 
house  and  themselves  as  well  as  they  were  able. 
They  decided  to  eat  a  simple  meal  and  go  to  bed. 

Nevertheless,  after  Hans  had  gone  to  bed,  Martha 
said  she  must  go  to  the  stable  again  to  see  about  a 
cow. 

Outdoors  the  snow  was  deep  and  the  moon  shone. 
There  was  smooth,  bright  ice  on  the  lake.  The 
trees  had  a  dress  of  feathery  white.  The  cold  pene- 
trated to  the  very  marrow. 


God  and  Woman  317 


It  was  late  at  night  that  Nils  had  to  get  up  to 
bring  a  drink  of  water  to  one  of  the  children.  He 
walked  across  the  cold  floor  to  the  window.  He 
breathed  upon  the  frost-covered  window-pane  to 
make  a  clear  spot  and  looked  out.  There  was  bright 
moonlight,  and  the  snow  lay  deep  upon  the  ground 
and  upon  the  roofs.  The  young  people  would  have 
good  sleighing  to  the  chapel  in  the  morning. 

But  what  was  that  in  the  courtyard?  Nils 
breathed  upon  the  window-pane  again  to  make  the* 
clear  spot  larger.  Was  it  a  man — out  there  now — 
at  this  hour  on  Christmas  Eve? 

"  What  are  you  looking  %at?  "  asked  his  wife,  who 
had  become  wide  awake.  He  did  not  answer,  so 
she  wrapped  herself  in  the  coverlet  and  went  to  the 
window.  She  also  breathed  upon  the  window-pane 
and  looked  out. 

"  What  are  you  looking  at?  "  she  asked  again. 

"  Don't  you  see?  " 

"Is  there  somebody  there?    What !" 

The  ground  was  silvery  white.  The  ruts  had 
been  worn  bright  by  the  sleigh-runners.  But  there 
was  a  dark  object  in  the  centre  of  the  courtyard 
that  looked  at  the  buildings,  at  the  sky,  then  toward 
the  window.  It  cast  a  large  shadow  over  the  white 
snow. 

"  Do  you  know  who  it  is?  "  asked  Nils. 

"Yes,  yes — is  the  stable  locked?  " 

The  object  remained  for  some  time,  then  walked 
and  looked  about  as  if  reluctant  to  leave. 


318  God  and  Woman 

It  was  cold  in  the  house,  and  Mis  and  Olina  were 
chilled  through,  but  they  did  not  dare  to  leave  the 
window.  There  was  something  gruesome  about 
this  visit  at  night,  on  Christmas  Eve,  when  folks 
usually  stayed  at  home. 

At  last  the  dark  object  began  to  move  up  the  road 
toward  the  hills.  Oh,  how  these  two  felt  the  short, 
tripping  steps!  How  strange  that  she  dared  to 
wander  about  alone  at  night! 

"  I  wonder  when  we  are  going  to  have  peace 
here/'  said  Nils,  clenching  his  fists. 

It  began  to  seem  as  if  Dyrendal  were  haunted, 
When  they  went  out  in  the  dark  they  could  no 
longer  feel  safe. 


On  the  first  of  May,  in  the  evening,  the  trades 
unions  would  have  a  large  celebration  in  the  town. 
The  principal  speaker  was  to  be  the  socialist  editor, 
Knut  Hamren.  The  trades  union  hall  was  full  of 
people  both  on  the  main  floor  and  in  the  galleries. 
When  the  fiery  speaker  came  upon  the  platform  and 
stepped  to  the  speaker's  desk,  he  was  greeted  by 
applause  from  a  thousand  hands.  He  had  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  serve  a  term  in  prison  on  account  of 
certain  radical  articles  that  had  appeared  in  his 
paper,  so  that  he  was  now  popular  in  earnest. 

The  new  Cavalry  General,  Murat,  carried  a  sword 
and  swung  it  above  his  head.  Forward,  dragoons ! 
He  attacked  present-day  society.  Priests  and  offi- 
cers and  capitalists  and  all  other  blood-suckers  were 


God  and  Woman  319 

completely  annihilated,  although  they,  time  and 
time  again,  rose  up  and  closed  their  ranks.  His 
good  dragoons  did  not  exactly  shout  "  Vive  FEm- 
pereur!  "  but  they  clapped  their  hands  and  shouted 
their  approval  so  that  the  house  literally  shook — 
especially  when  he  made  some  master-stroke  and 
a  head  or  two  flew  through  the  air.  And  when  a 
hiss  was  heard  there  was  a  hurricane  of  shouts  that 
the  disturbers  should  be  thrown  out. 

What  was  that?  The  speaker  became  more  sub- 
dued. His  eyes  were  glued  to  a  certain  spot  in 
the  front  of  the  hall.  There  were  two  old  people 
on  the  front  seat.  They  looked  like  simple  farmers. 
They  were  his  master  and  mistress  at  the  time  he 
was  herd-boy  at  Dyrendal. 

The  speaker  did  not  stop  altogether,  but  he  re- 
membered one  day  when  he  had  cleaned  the  stable 
for  the  old  woman,  and  she  was  milking,  that  she 
said: 

"  Yes,  if  you  ever  become  a  great  man,  so  that 
you  make  speeches,  then  I  shall  come  to  hear  you 
and  shall  sit  in  the  front  row." 

Now  she  sat  there  in  the  front  row. 

The  old  man  was  very  attentive.  He  would  put 
tufts  of  his  beard  into  his  mouth,  and  shake  his 
head  and  smile.  But  Martha — what  was  that! 
Martha  expressed  her  approval  in  her  own  way. 
She  nodded  her  head  and  closed  her  eyes. 

"  Knut  is  getting  along  very  well,"  she  must  have 
thought,  "  so  I  can  take  a  little  nap."  It  was  even 
worse  than  that.  When  the  speaker  was  in  the 


320  God  and  Woman 

midst  of  a  fiery  attack  and  was  just  collecting  him- 
self for  the  grand  climax,  he  heard  a  loud  snore. 

After  the  programme,  Knut  hunted  up  Hans  and 
Martha,  and  took  them  to  the  best  caf6  in  the  town. 

How  little  they  looked  like  important  people 
now,  by  electric  light — old  and  poorly  dressed  as 
they  were.  People  stared  at  the  old  woman  in  her 
kerchief,  and  the  old  farmer  in  his  homespun.  Knut 
brought  them  into  a  private  booth  and  ordered  a 
supper  of  salmon  and  Rhine  wine. 

"  We  are  getting  old  now,"  said  Martha,  bewil- 
dered by  the  light  and  the  many  people  everywhere 
about.  "  And  we  do  not  dare  to  travel  so  far  alone 
any  more.  But  we  heard  that  you  were  going  to 
speak " 

"  Dear  me,  did  you  make  the  long  journey  merely 
for  that?  " 

"  Oh,  no — we  had  a  few  things  to  sell  also,"  said 
Hans,  quietly  nodding  his  head. 

"  I  see  you  have  become  a  great  man,  after  all," 
said  Martha.  She  smiled  and  closed  her  eyes  as 
if  thinking  of  former  days.  "  But  I  wonder,"  she 
opened  her  eyes,  "  if  all  that  you  said  was  not  dread- 
ful nonsense." 

Hans  had  a  roguish  look  in  his  eye. 

"  There  was  one  thing,  though,  that  was  too  much 
for  you,"  he  said,  and  shook  his  head. 

"  Is  that  so — what  was  that?  " 

"  Oh,  well,  never  mind — but  there  was  one  word 
you  did  not  dare  to  use.  It  was  too  difficult.  Why 


God  and  Woman  321 

— one  must  be  almost  a  Cabinet  Minister  in  order 
to  speak  that  word." 

"  A  word?  My  dear  man,  what  word  is  that?  "5 
asked  Knut,  becoming  more  and  more  curious. 

Hans  was  somewhat  embarrassed,  but  conquered 
himself,  and  finally  said: 

"  It  is  a  word  I  learned  many  years  ago.  It  is 
'  disqualification-procedure.' ' 

They  all  laughed  heartily. 

When  the  salmon  had  been  brought  in  on  a 
silver  platter,  Knut  must  serve  the  old  folks.  Hans 
said  he  would  take  only  half  a  portion — not  a  bite 
more. 

"  But,  my  dear  man,  you  don't  get  food  like  this 
every  day,"  said  Martha. 

The  old  man  bent  down  and  whispered  to  Martha, 
while  stroking  his  head : 

"  It  will  be  too  expensive  for  Knut." 

"  Nonsense — it  will  cost  just  as  much  whether 
you  eat  it  or  not/' 

Thus  he  was  coaxed  to  eat  by  both  Martha  and 
Knut. 

Later  in  the  evening  they  walked  down  the  bril- 
liantly lighted  main  street  toward  the  harbour — 
Hans,  broad  shouldered  and  bearded,  wearing  a 
brown  plush  hat ;  Martha,  thin,  wrinkled,  and  bent, 
wearing  a  large  shawl  over  her  shoulders  and  a 
black  kerchief  on  her  head.  Their  former  herd-boy 
wore  a  spring  overcoat  and  silk  hat,  and  carried  a 
silver-headed  cane.  He  accompanied  them  to  their 


322  God  and  Woman 

lodging-house,  because  the  old  couple  were  afraid 
they  might  not  be  able  to  find  it. 

"  Can  you  understand/'  said  Hans,  as  they  were 
preparing  for  bed,  "  how  he  can  be  cross  as  an  ox 
when  he  preaches,  and  kind  and  condescending 
when  he  is  with  old  acquaintances?  " 

"  Oh,  yes,  that  is  not  so  strange,"  said  Martha. 
"  But  what  I  can't  get  through  my  head  is,  why  he 
is  so  much  against  the  well-to-do.  Well-to-do? 
What  is  he  himself,  then?  " 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  IX 

"  GOOD  DAY  !  " 

"  Good  day !    What's  the  news?  " 

It  was  Jens  Rabben  who  .was  delivering  mails 
on  a  bright  summer  day.  He  drove  a  brown  mare 
hitched  to  a  cart  and  let  his  feet  dangle  between 
the  wheels.  In  his  lap  he  held  a  mail-bag,  and  as  he 
drove  from  farm  to  farm  he  had  his  hat  pulled  down 
on  one  side  and  sang. 

f     The  postman  is  like  fate.     Everything  that  hap- 

(  pens  in  the  world  is  in  the  papers,  and  the  papers 

/  he  carries  in  his  mail-bag.    But  the  letters :  they  are 

different — they  are  sealed.    Maids  come  out  to  meet 

him.    Has  he  anything  for  them?    Others  run  after 

him  and  give  him  a  bit  of  white  paper  with  slanting 

characters  on  it.     Jens  nods  and  puts  it  into  the 

bag,  drives  on,  and  sings  another  song. 

To-day  he  drove  up  to  the  little  farm-house  occu- 
pied by  Martha  and  Hans.  Newspapers?  Oh,  no 
—the  old  man  is  no  longer  in  politics.  He  does  not 
subscribe  to  even  a  single  paper. 

Martha  and  Hans  were  raking  hay  behind  the 
house.  Martha  was  white  haired  and  bent.  Hans 
wras  in  his  shirt-sleeves.  His  red  suspenders 
formed  a  cross  on  his  back.  The  postman!  They 
raised  their  heads  and  blinked  their  eyes. 

323 


324  God  and  Woman 

"  This  is  fine  weather  for  haying,"  said  Jens,  be- 
ginning to  hum  a  tune,  taking  his  time  to  open  his 
bag  and  finger  the  letters.  The  old  folks  leaned 
upon  their  rakes  and  looked  at  him  attentively. 
The  brown  mare  stretched  her  head  to  slacken  the 
reins,  and  began  to  eat  of  the  freshly  cut  hay. 

"  You  have  no  news  for  us,  have  you?  "  asked 
Martha,  wondering  who  in  the  wide  world  would 
write  to  them. 

Jens  hummed  and  hunted.  His  red,  beardless 
face  was  insensible  to  everything  in  the  world  ex- 
cept that  everyone  should  get  his  or  her  letter.  The 
old  folks  looked  at  one  another.  What  if  it  should 
turn  out  to  be  bad  news? 

"  No — it  was  the  big  one — yes,  there  it  is !  That 
is  it ! "  said  Jens,  talking  to  the  mail  and  to  him- 
self. He  produced  a  large  letter  closed  with  several 
seals.  "  There — I  was  beginning  to  fear  there 
wasn't  any  for  you  after  all.  Gee-up,  Brownie! 
And  good-bye !  Now  we  may  sing  again !  "  Jens 
drove  on  with  his  hat  tilted  to  one  side  and  sang. 

Hans  turned  the  letter  over  and  over,  and  held 
it  at  a  distance  from  his  eyes  to  enable  him  to  read 
the  address.  Martha  looked  over  his  shoulder. 

It  had  foreign  stamps.  No  doubt  it  had  come  a 
long  distance.  There  was  something  stiff  inside. 

There  was  no  hurry  about  the  hay.  They  must  go 
in.  Hans  went  ahead.  Martha  followed  more 
slowly,  using  the  rake  as  a  cane. 

Once  inside,  both  Hans  and  Martha  put  on  "their 
glasses.  Martha  was  best  at  reading  handwriting. 


God  and  Woman  325 

She  opened  the  letter  with  a  table-knife.  She  took 
out  the  stiff  object  first.  It  was  wrapped  in  fine 
tissue-paper.  A  photograph !  They  put  their  heads 
together  and  saw  a  full-length  picture  of  a  gentle- 
man, beardless,  bald  headed,  wearing  striped 
trousers,  black  frock-coat,  and  eyeglasses.  He  was 
not  exactly  a  youth — he  was,  perhaps,  forty  or  fifty 
years  old. 

"  This  could  not  have  been  intended  for  us," 
thought  Hans. 

"  Now  we  shall  see  what  the  letter  says,"  Martha 
replied.  She  seated  herself  at  the  head  of  the  table, 
held  the  letter  before  her  eyes,  placed  it  on  the  table 
again,  and  adjusted  her  spectacles  farther  down  on 
her  nose,  and  finally  began  reading: 

"  Dear  father " 

Hans  gave  a  start. 

Martha  looked  at  him  over  her  glasses,  then 
read  on: 

"  You  will  be  surprised,  perhaps,  when  a  full- 
grown  man  bobs  up  in  the  far  west  and  pre — 
presents  himself  as  your — your  son." 

Martha  lowered  the  letter  and  looked  at  Hans 
over  her  glasses  again.  The  old  man  burst  out 
laughing. 

He  began  to  scratch  his  hairy  breast  inside  his 
shirt.  Then  he  chewed  his  tobacco-cud  vigorously 
and  looked  at  Martha. 

She  held  up  the  letter  again,  and  began  to  read : 

"  But  as  these  things  now  lie  so  far  in  the  past,  I 
hope  you  and  I  are  agreed  that  they  can  be  men- 


326  God  and  Woman 

tioned  between  ourselves.  My  mother's  name  was 
Birit  Besvolden,  when  she  was  a  girl  in  Norway." 
Martha  fixed  her  eyes  upon  the  wall,  but  her  curi- 
osity soon  compelled  her  to  read  on.  "  When  I  was 
grown  up,  she  told  me  that  you  and  she  had  been 
engaged  at  one  time,  and  that,  later,  the  engagement 
had  been  broken  off.  It  is  only  right  you  should 
know  that  mother  was  a  proud  woman — shortly 
after  she  arrived  in  America  she  gave  birth  to  a 
boy,  and  I  am  that  boy.  She  did  not  want  to  write 
and  tell  you  about  it.  The  first  few  years  she  toiled 
and  struggled  alone  for  us  both.  Then  she  married 
a  veterinary  surgeon,  and,  as  they  had  no  children 
together,  I  grew  up  in  their  home.  They  treated  me 
kindly,  and  kept  me  in  good  schools.  Later  I  was 
fortunate,  and  became  well  established  in  business. 
Now  I  am  a  factory  owner  and  the  mayor  of  my 
city  here  in  Wisconsin.  Mother  has  been  dead 
many  years,  but  she  often  told  me  that  my  father 
had  a  large  farm  in  Norway,  and  I  have  always 
thought  that  some  day  he  and  I  must  become  ac- 
quainted. I  hope  you  will  send  me  your  photo- 
graph. It  is  not  altogether  impossible  that  I  make 
a  visit  to  Norway  some  day — perhaps  next  sum- 
mer." 

Martha  lowered  the  letter,  and  began  to  meditate. 
Hans  put  tufts  of  his  beard  in  his  mouth.  There 
was  silence  for  a  long  time. 

At  last  they  looked  at  one  another,  then  Hans 
quickly  turned  his  eyes  toward  the  wall.  He  did 
not  know  whether  he  should  be  proud  or  ashamed. 


God  and  Woman  327 

Martha  drew  a  long  breath,  and  said  "  Hem."  A 
fly  buzzed  at  the  window.  There  they  sat  and 
breathed  heavily.  They  were  not  dreaming.  They 
had  received  this  letter.  It  was  not  a  joke.  And 
the  cottage  hadn't  tumbled  down.  The  photograph 
was  there,  and  the  letter  also. 

Hans  snickered  finally. 

"  Well—  '  Martha  said,  raising  her  eyebrows. 
Then  there  was  a  pause  again. 

"  That  is  news  to  me,"  said  Hans  at  last. 

After  a  while  Martha  recovered  her  speech. 

"  I  thought  you  and  I  had  experienced  a  little  of 
everything,  but  it  seems  we  have  not  reached  the. 
end  yet." 

"  That  is  something  new  for  me,"  said  Hans,  as 
if  to  excuse  himself. 

"  New?  I  should  say  the  affair  with  Birit  Bes- 
volden  was  rather  old." 

There  was  another  long  pause.  Both  thought  of 
the  days  long  ago — long,  long  ago. 

Then  Martha  looked  at  Hans.  She  took  off  her 
glasses  and  looked  at  him  again : 

"  So  you  have  a  son,  Hans !  " 

Despite  the  unpleasant  features  of  the  situation, 
their  faces  brightened,  and  both  began  to  smile. 
It  had  happened  at  times  when  they  were  not  on 
good  terms  that  one  had  thrown  it  up  to  the  other : 
"  It  is  your  fault  that  we  don't  have  any  children !  " 
But  who  could  decide  such  a  matter?  Now  it  had 
been  decided.  Hans  stood  with  hands  clasped.  It 
was  not  his  fault. 


328  God  and  Woman 

Martha  picked  up  the  photograph  again. 

"  Well,  well — and  that  is  how  he  looks !  So  you 
are  the  father  of  such  a  gentleman — you,  Hans !  " 

The  old  man  shook  his  head  and  smiled.  He  must 
also  look  at  the  photograph  again.  Then  they  put 
their  heads  together,  and  looked,  and  looked. 

"  He  looks  like  a  real  gentleman,"  said  Hans. 

"  He  is  a  fine-looking  fellow,"  said  Martha. 
"  And  for  that  matter,  it  isn't  hard  to  guess  who  is 
his  father." 

"  No,  do  you  think  so?  "  Hans  shook  his  head 
again.  Mayor — Wisconsin — factory  owner — a  real 
gentleman :  did  he  look  like  him?  The  joy  of  father- 
hood which  Hans  had  never  felt  before  shot  through 
his  soul  like  darts^  of  fire. 

Martha  sighed.  That  Hans  and  another  woman 
had  a  child  together  was  one  thing.  But  it  hap- 
pened so  long  ago It  was  worse  that  she  now, 

alone,  remained  childless.  She  and  Hans  were  not 
alike  in  that  any  longer.  Hans  was  no  longer 
childless. 

At  last  they  rose  to  their  feet.  This  letter  seemed 
like  a  distinguished  visitor. 

"  Great  heavens,  how  disorderly  it  looks  here !  " 
said  Martha,  and  immediately  began  to  tidy  the 
house.  They  were  not  altogether  alone  any  longer. 

During  the  afternoon  the  rakes  made  rapid 
strokes  over  the  field.  The  two  old  people  must  keep 
close  together,  because  now  there  was  something 
they  must  constantly  chat  about. 


God  and  Woman  329 

"  I  wonder  if  he  is  married/'  said  Martha,  lean- 
ing for  a  moment  upon  her  rake. 

"  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  he  is  married 
and  has  children  too,"  thought  Hans.  It  occurred 
to  him  that  perhaps  he  was  a  grandfather  also — • 
to  a  large  number  of  persons  out  in  the  great  world. 

They  raked  in  silence,  but  continued  to  think 
about  the  same  thing.     At  the  supper  table  they 
must  read  the  letter  again,  and  look  at  the  photo- 
graph. After  they  had  gone  to  bed  they  talked  about 
him  again.    A  son  had  entered  their  life.     Martha  I 
had  a  strange  feeling  when  she  thought  of  Birit  ! 
Besvolden,  whom  she  had  robbed  of  a  sweetheart  \ 
long,  long  ago.    If  she  sinned  against  Birit  at  that  . 
time,  she  might  make  amends  by  being  kind  to  her  I 
boy.     Ah — and  in  a  way  she  had  a  right  to  look  j 
upon  him  as  almost  her  own.    A  son  of  Hans  was,  j 
of   course,   her   stepson.    But   he   wras   without   a  ^ 
mother,  and  Martha  would  be  his  mother.     That  K 
much  she  owed  Birit,  who  was  dead. 

The  two  old  people  went  to  sleep  and  dreamed 
about  him.  They  woke  up  earlier  than  usual.  It 
was  as  if  their  son  had  called  them  to  a  new  and 
wonderful  day. 

As  time  passed,  Martha  especially  had  him  in  her 
thoughts  early  and  late.  "  Your  son,"  she  said  at 
first ;  but  soon  she  was  saying  "  our  son." 

Naturally,  they  must  write  to  him.  For  days  and 
weeks  the  two  old  people  went  about  and  talked  over 
what  they  should  say  in  the  letter.  He  became  more 
and  more  a  living  being  to  them.  He  began  to  be 


33°  God  and  Woman 

present  in  the  little  cottage,  making  it  necessary 
for  them  always  to  be  industrious.  Martha  dressed 
better  than  she  had  been  in  the  habit  of  doing.  Who 
could  know  that  he  would  not  come  quite  unexpect- 
edly some  day  and  take  them  unawares. 

Toward  autumn  folks  noticed  that  the  weather- 
beaten  cottage  had  a  new  coat  of  paint.  They  also 
made  improvements  inside.  Martha  went  to  a 
neighbour  for  slips  so  that  she  might  have  potted 
plants  in  the  windows. 

"  What  if  he  should  make  up  his  mind  to  settle 
here  when  he  comes  home?  "  said  Hans  one  day. 
That  was  a  great  idea — it  was  to  them  like  the  first 
peep  of  dawn  after  a  long  night. 

They  had  the  picture  framed  and  hung  it  on  the 
wall  over  the  table.  Eating  became  more  agreeable. 
Martha  cooked  better  food.  Every  meal  seemed  like 
a  feast  to  Hans. 

"  It  might  happen  that  he  would  like  to  buy  a 
farm  in  the  neighbourhood,"  thought  Martha  one 
day. 

"  Yes,  if  there  is  any  that  is  large  enough.  He 
would  not  be  satisfied  with  just  a  couple  of  cows." 

"  If  Nils  were  offered  sixty  or  seventy  thousand, 
he  might  be  willing  to  sell  Dyrendal." 

"  Hem !  "  That  was  something  worth  thinking 
about. 

Ah — this  Dyrendal,  which  they  had  lost — which 
now  they  could  admire  only  at  a  distance!  What 
if  the  son  should  buy  Dyrendal,  and  should  take 
his  old  parents  to  live  with  him!  Such  a  gentle- 


God  and  Woman  33 1 

man  as  he  is  would,  no  doubt,  drive  about  in  a  four- 
wheeled  carriage.  The  day  might  come  when  they, 
too,  his  old  parents,  would  drive  to  church  in  grand 
style  again,  and  folks  would  bow  and  take  off  their 
hats  to  them.  But  when  that  day  came,  Hans 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  them. 

Autumn  came,  and  cold  weather.  There  was 
much  snow.  On  stormy  nights  Martha  would  lie 
awake,  but  she  was  not  as  miserable  as  formerly. 
The  wicked  faces  in  the  darkness  gave  way  to  a 
brighter  face,  a  good  face,  which  came  out  of  the 
darkness  to  rescue  them — their  son :  he  who  would 
soon  redress  all  the  wrongs  they  had  suffered. 

They  began  to  save  more  than  ever  before,  in 
order  to  lay  aside  as  much  as  possible.  Their 
thought  was  no  longer  to  become  rich  themselves. 
No,  but  they  wanted  to  have  something  to  give  to 
him — their  son.  No  matter  how  rich  he  was,  they 
did  not  want  to  be  poor — they  wanted  that  he 
should  inherit  something — that  he  should  have 
something  to  thank  them  for.  Martha  made  butter 
and  sold  it  short  in  weight.  She  even  wished  some- 
times she  could  mix  sand  with  it  so  that  it  would 
weigh  more.  It  was  deceit.  It  was  sin.  Ha,  ha, 
ha — sin!  Couldn't  they  afford  to  commit  a  sin  or 
two?  Wait  until  he  comes — he!  Several  old 
acquaintances  had  borrowed  money  from  them. 
Now  they  needed  their  money.  They  began  to  de- 
mand it.  It  worked  hardship  on  others;  but  they 
could  afford  that,  if  only  he  would  come — he ! 

For  the  first  time  in  many  years  Martha  appeared 


332  God  and  Woman 

in  public  again  on  Christmas  Day.  She  and  Hans 
drove  to  church  together. 

No  one  took  his  hat  off  to  them — oh,  no ;  but  Hans 
wore  his  faded  blue  overcoat  once  more.  Folks 
might  stare  at  them  as  much  as  they  liked,  and  ask 
how  it  happened  that  they  had  begun  to  spruce  up 
again.  Let  them  ask.  If  they  only  knew  how  the 
old  folks  went  about  as  in  a  dream!  Wait  until 
next  year.  They  might  come  driving  to  church  with 
a  third  person. 

The  day  was  dark.  Candles  were  burning  on  the 
altar.  The  organ  sounded.  The  congregation  sang. 
Martha,  wearing  spectacles,  bowed  her  white  head 
and  sang. 

Once  more,  as  she  sat  in  the  church,  she  seemed 
to  be  changed  into  another  person.  She  put  her 
own  meaning  into  the  hymn.  Now  she  was  old. 
Soon,  perhaps,  all  would  be  over.  But  was  it  pos- 
sible that  she  should  live  to  pour  all  of  the  virgin 
warmth  of  her  soul  over  one  who  would  feel  thank- 
ful, and  who  would  be  worthy?  Was  that  the  rea- 
son she  clung  to  this  stranger  whom  she  had  never 
seen?  Her  last  hope!  That,  or  nothing!  That,  or 
death !  She  thought  of  him  as  she  sang.  Her  sing- 
ing made  her  warmer,  richer,  more  filled  with 
happiness.  Once  again  she  seemed  to  be  lifted  up, 
together  with  other  women — myriads  of  women. 
All  the  mothers  in  the  world  were  there.  They 
gathered  about  a  large  throne.  Once  more  the 
room  became  filled  with  the  song  of  the  mothers. 

"  The  son — oh,  no,  not  altogether!    But  he  is  so 


God  and  Woman  333 

dreadfully  far  away.  He  will  come  sometime,  but 
the  journey  is  beset  with  so  many  dangers.  O  Lord, 
hold  Your  protecting  hand  over  him  so  that  I  may 
see  him  before  I  die." 

While  the  minister  was  in  the  pulpit,  Martha, 
still  wearing  her  glasses,  kept  her  eyes  on  the  paint- 
ing above  the  altar.  She  was  looking  at  the  woman 
in  black  who  knelt  at  the  feet  of  the  crucified  Son. 

She  would  rather  have  seen  Him  when  He  rose  to 
deliver  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  Then  His  mother 
could  have  stood  in  the  crowd  and  could  have  felt 
proud  to  have  a  Son  who  was  able  to  hurl  such 
powerful  words  of  cleansing  truth  at  the  people. 

When  her  son,  the  great  mayor,  should  come  from 
America  next  summer,  perhaps  he  might  give  some 
lectures  in  the  neighbourhood.  Such  a  man  could 
do  a  good  deal  of  cleaning  up  in  one  way  and 
another.  She,  herself,  would  sit  in  the  first  row. 
There  were  plenty  of  scoundrels  who  might  be 
benefited  by  hearing  a  word  of  truth. 

As  Martha  was  sitting  in  the  church  she  began  to 
have  a  vision  of  the  day  when  there  would  be  peace 
in  her  soul.  When  she  had  someone  she  could  be 
kind  to  and  in  whom  she  could  have  perfect  trust, 
and  when  also  he  had  made  the  people  better  so 
that  she  could  think  of  them  without  hatred — then, 
yes,  then,  one  day,  she  could  die  in  peace. 

Think  how  wonderful  it  would  be  to  die  in  peace ! 

Spring  came  at  last.  Then  came  also  another 
letter. 


God  and  Woman  Chapter  X 

MARTHA  was  dressed  up.  She  had  ear-rings,  silk 
shawl,  the  gold  chain  which  belonged  to  her  watch 
and  which  she  had  carried  on  her  high  chest  in  the 
days  of  her  prosperity.  Hans  wore  a  white  collar 
and  the  duffel  coat  which  he  bought  for  Nils  Dyren- 
dal's  wedding.  It  was  a  trifle  faded,  but  it  looked 
well  enough  so  that  he  could  wear  it  a  few  times  yet. 

A  trip  to  town  had  become  quite  an  undertaking. 
Therefore  Martha  carried  a  basket  of  eggs  in  one 
hand  and  a  pail  of  butter  in  the  other,  while  Hans 
had  thrown  a  carcass  of  veal  in  a  sack  over  his 
shoulder. 

Oh,  no — they  did  not  travel  first  class.  Nor  did 
they  eat  with  the  big-wigs  in  the  saloon.  That  time 
was  past.  They  stood  on  the  forward  deck  of  the 
steamer  that  bright  August  day  and  chatted  in  a 
friendly  manner.  No  one  about  them  suspected  the 
object  of  their  journey. 

They  looked  at  the  fjord  which  widened  out  into 
a  great  sea.  It  was  a  long  time  since  their  first 
.meeting,  on  a  journey  to  the  midsummer  fair  in 
town,  and  the  method  of  travelling  was  very  differ- 
ent from  what  it  had  been  in  those  days. 

The  stately  Lofoten  boats,  with  tall  mast  and 
white  stripe  at  the  water-line,  were  no  more.  And 

334 


God  and  Woman  335 

the  fisherman  with  a  beard  under  his  chin,  who 
baked  pancakes  in  the  bottom  of  a  herring  barrel, 
he  also  was  no  more.  He  had  been  relieved  by  a* 
gentleman  in  a  motor-boat,  who  smoked  cigarettes, 
and  who  was  a  member  of  a  trades  union.  How 
the  time  flies! 

The  following  day  they  walked  down  the  broad 
main  street  of  the  town  to  the  very  Grand  Hotel 
itself,  and  they  were  dressed  in  their  very  best. 
They  were  pale  from  excitement,  but  they  smiled  as 
they  looked  at  one  another.  They  felt  almost  as  if 
they  were  to  have  an  audience  with  the  King. 

At  the  Grand  Hotel  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
going  around  to  the  kitchen  door,  because,  of  course, 
they  never  went  there  except  to  sell  butter  and  eggs. 
This  time  they  walked  straight  up  to  the  main 
entrance.  A  porter  stood  at  the  door.  His  clothes 
were  covered  with  gold  braid.  He  looked  fiercely 
at  them  and  told  them  to  go  around  the  other  way. 
But  Martha  straightened  up  and  said: 

"  Our  son  lives  here." 

The  porter  was  informed  that  their  son  was  the 
mayor  from  Wisconsin.  He  looked  in  the  register, 
and  nodded  his  head.  Thus  Martha  disciplined 
the  upstart.  Hans  took  off  his  hat  in  order  not 
to  be  taken  unawares  if  the  son  should  suddenly 
appear. 

The  porter  led  them  up  a  stairway  that  had  red 
carpets  and  brass  railings  at  the  side.  Good  Lord, 
but  it  was  beautiful !  Then  they  were  brought  into 
a  large  drawing-room  that  had  a  tall  mirror  in  a 


336  God  and  Woman 

gilded  frame,  paintings  upon  the  walls,  and  furni- 
ture covered  with  yellow  silk.  Oh,  yes — he  lived  as 
befitted  a  person  of  rank.  But,  on  this  day,  they 
had  more  important  things  to  think  of. 

"  Sit  down  and  wait  a  moment,"  said  the  porter, 
"  and  the  mayor  will  be  informed.  But  whom  shall 
I  announce? " 

Martha  smiled  and  raised  her  eyebrows. 

"  Haven't  we  told  you  that  we  are  his  parents?  " 
she  asked. 

He  bowed  and  walked  away,  his  coat-tails, 
decorated  with  gold  buttons,  flapping  at  each  step. 

"  Let  us  sit  down,"  said  Martha,  after  they  had 
waited  for  some  time. 

"  Never  in  the  world,"  said  Hans,  shaking  his 
head.  "  You  won't  get  me  to  sit  down  on  those 
chairs." 

They  kept  close  together  in  order  to  be  ready. 
Hans  stroked  his  beard  and  decided  to  bow. 

At  last  the  door  opened.  A  tall,  broad-shouldered 
man,  bald  and  beardless,  wearing  a  light  suit, 
entered  with  light  steps.  His  lips  were  thin,  and 
they  became  still  thinner  when  he  began  to  smile. 
He  noticed  the  two  old  people  who  tried  to  bow, 
and  went  toward  them  with  quick  steps.  But  he 
stopped  abruptly  with  a  jerk,  took  off  his  eyeglasses, 
and  began  to  clean  them.  It  was  as  if  he  had  found 
something  very  different  from  what  he  had  ex- 
pected. 

"  Good  morning !  " 

The  mayor  had  dreamed  many  years  about  this 


God  and  Woman  337 

father  who  lived  far  away  in  the  land  of  sagas.  The 
father  had  become  a  sort  of  chieftain,  like  those  in 
Snorre  Sturleson's  story,  something  distant  and  not 
clearly  denned,  perhaps  wearing  a  coat  of  mail  and 
a  shield,  and  wielding  Thor's  hammer,  and  drinking 
from  the  braga-beaker  in  the  hall.  But  this  thread- 
bare peasant,  who  stood  there,  his  mouth  stained 
with  tobacco  juice — was  that  the  chieftain?  Was 
that  his  father?  And  that  old  bent  woman — she 
looked  as  if  she  had  stepped  out  of  a  museum !  It 
seemed  to  him,  at  that  moment,  as  if  a  large  dream- 
bubble  had  burst,  and  there  before  him  had  ap- 
peared two  cave-creatures  who  had  actually  risen 
up  through  the  floor. 

But  he  collected  himself  and  became  cordial. 
Oh,  he  had  seen  people  like  this  before,  when  he 
stopped  to  think.  It  was  when  immigrants  were 
taken  to  the  West  in  charge  of  an  agent.  And  here 
and  there  on  the  prairies  there  were,  no  doubt,  still 
to  be  found  such  old  people,  who,  in  their  day,  had 
come  from  a  mountain  valley  in  Norway,  with  their 
tickets  and -rose-coloured  chests  and  empty  hands. 
But  his  father — he  was  supposed  to  be  a  rich 
farmer,  a  chieftain ! 

After  some  time  he  succeeded  in  persuading  them 
to  sit  down,  and  a  conversation  of  a  sort  was 
started.  Hans  and  Martha  asked  if  he  had  enjoyed 
the  trip,  but  after  that  they  could  only  say  "  yes  " 
and  "  well,  well,"  and  listen  to  him.  He  asked  if 
Hans  smoked.  Oh,  yes!  He  brought  out  a  gold 
cigarette  case,  opened  it — please !  But  Hans  shook 


338  God  and  Woman 

his  head  and  grinned — he  did  not  understand  that 
kind  of  smoking. 

Oh,  yes — he  was  the  mayor  of  his  city,  and  a  fac- 
tory owner.  He  manufactured  farming  machinery, 
and  hoped  to  find  a  good  representative  in  Norway. 

"  Then  he  will  not  settle  down  with  us ! "  shot 
through  Martha's  mind,  and  chilled  her  through 
and  through. 

They  went  into  the  restaurant,  and  found  a  booth 
with  seats  furnished  with  soft  leather  cushions. 
The  mayor  ordered  lunch. 

"  Is  that  an  American  dish?  "  asked  Martha,  try- 
ing to  be  motherly. 

"What  did  you  say?"  He  looked  at  her  above 
his  eyeglasses. 

"  Is  luns  a  sort  of  food  they  use  in  America?  " 
she  repeated. 

"  If  lunch  is Ha,  ha,  ha !  "  His  bluish  teeth 

showed  much  gold. 

"  Yes,  we  have  lunch  in  America,  too — ha, 
ha,  ha!" 

Martha  became  crimson.  She  did  not  understand 
how  to  talk  with  such  fine  people. 

He  had  a  gold  pin  in  his  neck-tie,  and  large  gold 
cuff -buttons  with  links.  His  shirt  had  gold  stripes. 
The  effect  the  man,  as  a  whole,  made  was  that  of 
being  freshly  laundered  and  very  expensive. 

Hans  gave  him  side  glances  from  time  to  time, 
and  thought: 

"  Can  it  be  possible  that  you  are  the  father  of  this 


God  and  Woman  339 

big-wig?  If  you  are,  Hans,  you  are  more  of  a  man 
than  you  thought  you  were." 

Hans  called  him  "  Mister."  Neither  did  Martha 
dare  to  call  him  anything  else.  And  the  son  would 
not  call  Hans,  father,  nor  would  he  call  Martha, 
mother. 

"  Can  you  come  out  to  visit  us  now?  "  asked  Hans, 
with  some  hesitation. 

Out  in  the  country?  Well — oh,  no!  That  night 
the  tourist  steamship  would  start  for  the  North 
Cape,  and  he  was  one  of  a  large  American  company 
— and  next  month  he  would  have  to  be  in  Kristiania 
in  order  to  arrange  about  a  representative  there — 
well — and  a  week  later  he  would  have  to  attend  a 
stamp  collectors'  congress  in  Paris. 

Congress — what  kind  of  congress?  The  old  peo- 
ple did  not  hear  very  well. 

Congress  of  stamp  collectors !  He  was  one  of  the 
biggest  experts  in  this  field  in  the  U.S.A.  He  had 
a  collection  for  which  he  had  been  offered  a  fortune. 

The  two  old  folks  looked  at  one  another.  It  is 
not  always  an  easy  matter  to  have  a  son  who  ven- 
tures so  far  beyond  anything  one  is  used  to. 

"  Tell  me  one  thing,"  he  said,  cleaning  his  eye- 
glasses and  putting  them  on  again.  "  Where  is  the 
land  in  Norway?  " 

There  was  a  pause. 

"  Where  is  the  land?  "  echoed  Hans. 

"  Yes,  I  look  about  me  everywhere,  and  I  see  only 
rocks  and  water.  But  the  land — where  are  the 
large  farms?  And  the  roads — where  do  you  drive? 


34°  God  and  Woman 


Or  perhaps  you  don't  use  horses  and  wagons  in 
Norway?  Is  it  like  Iceland,  where  they  use  ponies 
with  pack-saddles?  " 

Hans  and  Martha  once  more  exchanged  glances. 

"  Oh,  yes,  we  have  horses  and  wagons,"  said  Hans 
with  pride. 

"  You  have?  But  the  roads?  You  cannot  drive 
straight  up  a  mountain-side." 

"  Ha,  ha,  ha,"  Hans  must  laugh.  Martha  also 
laughed.  They  did  not  know  how  in  the  world  to 
get  any  conversation  started  that  would  have  any 
sense  in  it. 

The  son  played  an  altogether  different  melody 
than  they.  The  more  they  talked,  the  more  strange 
they  became  to  one  another. 

"  I  understand  you  have  a  large  farm,"  said  the 
mayor  finally,  lighting  a  cigarette.  "  Do  you  use 
motor-ploughs — and  what  make?  " 

"  Motor-ploughs !  "  Hans  shook  his  head.  It 
became  worse  and  worse.  He  did  not  use  anything 
of  that  sort. 

"Are  the  farmers  beginning  to  use  autos  here? 
In  America  the  farmers  are  now  using  them  quite 
extensively." 

"  Autos !  "    The  old  people  shook  their  heads. 

"  How  large  is  your  farm?  "  he  asked. 

Oh,  they  said,  it  was  only  a  small  farm. 

"  Does  it  pay  to  work  a  small  farm  here?  For 
that  matter — small — big — that  depends  upon  what 
you  mean.  Have  you  as  many  as  a  hundred  cows 


God  and  Woman  341 

and  twenty  or  thirty  horses?  That  is  what  we  call 
a  small  farm  in  America." 

The  old  folks  looked  around  as  if  they  were  hunt- 
ing for  something  behind  which  they  might  hide. 
After  some  time  Hans  succeeded  in  explaining  that 
they  had  a  couple  of  cows  and  a  little  fjord  horse. 

There  was  another  long  pause.  The  American 
again  cleaned  his  eye-glasses  and  looked  more 
closely  at  the  old  folks. 

Martha  and  Hans  found  it  hard  to  eat.  The  food 
began  to  stick  in  their  throats.  They  had  known 
that  they  were  going  to  meet  a  great  man ;  but  this 
—it  was  far  beyond  them.  They  were  simple  peas- 
ant folks  from  a  mountain  valley,  and  in  his  pres- 
ence they  became  as  dust  and  vapour. 

They  began  to  talk  about  something  else. 

However,  the  mayor  from  Wisconsin  seemed 
depressed.  Why  had  he  arranged  a  meeting  like 
this  with  his  father?  Why  should  one  deprive  one- 
self of  an  illusion?  This  old  man  certainly  did  not 
come  out  of  a  story-book.  He  and  Martha  were 
simply  proletarians,  who  did  not  know  even  how  to 
use  a  knife  and  fork. 

They  talked  about  the  Scandinavians  in  America. 
He  had  hundreds  of  them  in  his  employ. 

"  Have  you  many  workmen?  "  asked  Hans,  com- 
pletely overwhelmed. 

"  I  have  five  thousand  employees  altogether,"  said 
the  mayor,  lighting  a  fresh  cigarette. 

"  Five  thou—  Great  heavens !  I  suppose  you 
have  to  pay  out  a  great  deal  of  money  every  day?  " 


342  God  and  Woman 


The  mayor  smiled  with  his  thin  lips : 

"  Oh,  yes — much — little — that  depends !  In  Nor- 
wegian money,  I  suppose  it  would  amount  to  about 
two  hundred  thousand  crowns  a  day." 

"  A  day !  "    Both  were  astounded. 

"  Oh,  yes,"  smiled  the  mayor,  and  nodded  his 
head.  "In  America  that  is  not  very  much." 

The  mayor  ordered  coffee,  and  lighted  another 
cigarette. 

The  two  old  people  exchanged  glances  and  under- 
stood one  another.  This  was  all  so  far  above  their 
heads  that  they  became  simply  beggars.  One  thing 
they  realized :  their  hope  that  he  would  buy  a  farm 
and  settle  down  near  them  and  redress  their  wrongs 
was  futile — it  had  vanished  into  thin  air.  And  the 
few  thousand  crowns  they  had  saved,  in  order  to  be 
able  to  give  him  something  one  day,  would  be  to  him 
no  more  than  a  little  pocket-money.  This  son  was 
not  a  human  being,  but  a  vision.  Their  son — they 
might  as  well  ask  King  David  to  be  their  son. 

They  drank  coffee.  The  two  peasants  drank  their 
coffee  from  the  saucer  as  they  were  in  the  habit  of 
doing.  The  mayor  was  reserved  and  became  more 
and  more  sleepy.  He  took  no  pleasure  in  being, 
with  the  old  folks,  nor  they  in  being  with  him. 
These  three  became  more  and  more  strange  to  one 
another  the  longer  they  tried  to  become  acquainted. 

"  Well — I  am  sorry,  but  I  have  many  things  to  do 
in  order  to  get  ready  for  my  trip  to  the  North 
Cape,"  he  said,  and  called  the  waiter. 

When  they  had  risen  from  their  seats,  the  mayor 


God  and  Woman  343 

shook  hands  with  Hans  and  Martha.  He  smiled 
with  his  thin  lips,  displaying  the  gold  in  his  mouth. 

"  It  has  been  a  great  pleasure  to  meet  you,"  he 
said.  "  Good  luck !  I  hope  to  hear  from  you  some- 
time again." 

Later  the  old  folks  walked  down  the  broad  main 
street  alone.  They  felt  as  if  they  had  ventured 
into  a  place  that  was  too  fine  for  them,  and  had  been 
thrown  out. 

Some  time  passed  before  they  could  collect  them- 
selves. They  stopped  and  looked  at  one  another. 
They  tried  to  smile,  but  were  on  the  point  of  weep- 
ing. They  looked  up  into  the  sky  and  wondered 
whether  it  would  rain. 

"  Did  you  sell  your  butter  and  eggs,"  asked  Hans. 
"  Oh,  yes,  and  you — did  you  get  rid  of  the  veal?  " 

"  Yes — that  was  a  simple  matter." 

They  crossed  the  street,  stopped  again,  and 
looked  around.  It  began  to  dawn  upon  them  that 
they  hadn't  a  thing  in  the  world  to  do  in  the  town 
any  more. 

"  Do  you  know  if  there  is  a  steamer  to-night?  " 
she  asked. 

"  There  is  not ;  but  we  can  get  a  steamer  to 
Vanvik." 

That  would  mean  a  walk  of  ten  miles,  first  up 
over  a  high  ridge,  then  down  again  on  the  other  side. 
But  both  had  a  strong  desire  to  get  away  from  the 
town  and  back  home  before  night. 

Soon  they  were  sitting  upon  the  deck  of  the 


344  God  and  Woman 

steamer  with  their  eyes  closed.  Their  one  wish 
seemed  to  be  to  get  home  and  go  to  bed. 

They  stepped  ashore  at  Vanvik  and  set  out  on 
the  long  journey  afoot. 

It  was  hard  work  to  walk  uphill.  Hans  carried 
the  pail  and  the  basket.  Martha  had  an  empty 
sack,  rolled  up,  under  her  arm. 

They  had  to  stop  often  to  rest.  Martha  became 
so  tired.  Each  time  they  stopped  she  had  to  sit 
down.  They  talked  only  of  this  and  that,  and 
looked  at  one  another,  and  tried  to  smile. 

The  August  day  began  to  change  into  night  as 
they  reached  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  Ah — it  seemed 
good  to  think  the  climbing  was  over.  They  saw, 
stretched  out  before  them,  many  miles  of  billowing 
mountains,  and  beyond  them  the  yellow  evening 
sky.  Beyond  the  mountains  lay  also  the  ocean, 
from  which  came  the  waters  of  the  fjord.  They 
wandered  toward  the  yellow  northern  sky,  while 
the  twilight  changed  into  darkness  over  moor  and 
heath. 

They  sat  down  on  the  heath  and  ate  the  food  they 
had  brought  for  the  journey.  They  chewed  and 
swallowed.  They  looked  at  one  another  and  tried 
again  to  smile.  Hans  brought  out  his  pipe.  It  was 
not  until  his  pipe  was  lit  that  a  word  escaped  him. 

"  He  was  a  great  man !  "  he  said. 

"  Yes,  yes,"  said  Martha,  with  a  dry  laugh. 

They  rose  and  continued  the  journey.  They  were 
met  by  a  gust  of  wind.  It  was  the  northwest  wind 
beginning  to  blow.  They  walked  slowly  toward  the 


God  and  Woman  345 

yellow  light  in  the  northern  sky.  They  bent  for- 
ward against  the  wind  and  pressed  on.  Hans  must 
hold  his  hat  from  blowing  off.  Martha's  skirts 
fluttered.  The  light  in  the  north  made  dim  shadows 
that  constantly  followed  them. 

"  A  storm  is  coming,"  Martha  remarked. 

"  Yes,  but  I  think  we  can  pull  through  all  right. 
We  are  more  than  half-way." 

From  the  ocean  large  dark  clouds  began  to  rise 
and  sail  across  the  northern  sky.  They  looked  like 
living  beings — animals,  men,  ghosts  in  black  and 
gold.  Now  and  then  Martha  would  raise  her  head 
and  worry  over  the  storm  that  was  brewing  for  the 
night.  Hans  carried  the  pail  in  one  hand  and  the 
basket  on  a  stick  over  his  shoulder.  Martha  did  not 
notice  that,  now  and  again,  his  eyes  would  light  up 
as  he  thought: 

"  He  was  a  devil  of  a  fine  fellow !  " 

At  last  they  reached  the  neighbourhood  of  their 
own  little  farm.  It  was  pitch-dark  when,  late  at 
night,  they  passed  Dyrendal. 

They  had  not  dared  to  go  near  the  place  since  the 
night  they  moved  away.  Now,  as  it  was  dark,  they 
could  sit  down  beside  the  road  for  a  moment  and 
look  at  their  former  home.  Mis  had  just  installed 
electric  light,  so  that  the  farm  looked  like  a  fairy- 
land under  the  many  bright  lights. 

When  they  rose  to  continue  on  their  way,  Martha 
began  to  dread  to  go  home,  for  it  was  not  merely 
the  picture  on  the  wall  she  must  struggle  with. 
Something  else  awaited  them  in  the  little  cottage, 


346  God  and  Woman 

which  of  late  she  had  forgotten  to  think  about.  It 
was  old  age,  loneliness,  and  her  own  sins.  She,  who 
would  make  everything  right  when  he  should  come 
— he !  She  had  no  longer  the  promised  son  to  go  to 
for  refuge.  The  son  was  no  more. 

They  walked  slower  than  before,  but,  neverthe- 
less, they  came  nearer  and  nearer  to  their  home. 

And  when,  at  last,  they  stood  before  the  door  of 
the  little  cottage,  they  were  reluctant  to  go  in. 
Hans  turned  and  looked  back  toward  Dyrendal, 
there  in  the  darkness.  A  silvery  white  light  was 
reflected  from  the  roofs.  Martha  put  her  hand  upon 
his  shoulder  to  steady  herself  and  looked  in  the 
same  direction. 


THE   END 


UC  SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


A    001  270  074    6 


